A Thousand Paper Cranes
by Reiko Anne Nguyen
Summary: Benny never thought he’d find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.
1. The Fall of the Beast

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Original Publish Date: October 14, 2005

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Fall of the Beast**  
"_Sad to say, the fall of __The Beast__ marked the rise of __The Jet__.  
It marked the beginning of reality—the beginning of the end of their childhood."_

_August 26, 1963, Monday  
Roscoe Hills, San Fernando Valley  
_

Janie stood over the porcelain vase that had once nursed her favorite flowers. No one understood why, but while most 15-year-old girls preferred the passionate notion red roses entailed, nothing could make Janie's heart soar like an elegant Easter lily could. Granted, she was highly allergic to them, but Lord knew she had her reasons.

"Stupid rain," Janie thought forlornly as her beloved lilies drowned in their vase. The downpour that unpredictably swept over the town of San Fernando Valley had grown stronger, and although many people welcomed the fresh coolness that replaced their typical heat waves, Janie only saw it for the destruction it inflicted on her flower pot.

"Jane Everlie Reynolds!" Her younger sister suddenly bellowed from the kitchen window, imitating their mother's strict stance. "Ittai nani wo yattenda?"

As if only realizing the drizzling weather condition now, Janie instantly raised her umbrella to shield herself. She shivered slightly as a chilly breeze ruffled her damp dress. "I'm just…um, nothing! I'm not doing anything!"

"Well then are you stupid? It's pouring cats and dogs!"

Janie chose to ignore her younger sister's ridicule, but she knew it would be useless. The kitchen door had already slipped open, making a slap-stick sound before Gracie's footsteps began nearing.

"He's not coming, you know," Gracie softly pointed out as she rushed under the umbrella.

"What are you talking about?" Janie scoffed a bit too heavily. It was hard for her to act as if she didn't know who Gracie was talking about.

"Benny. He's not coming."

Janie cleared her throat as she tried to compose herself. She didn't want to cry, not when she had survived an entire summer of waiting day to day for someone who was hopelessly out of her reach. She needed to convince herself that she didn't care; that he didn't matter anymore. But it was an attempt that had proven to be extremely futile, as she spent her entire summer indoors either waiting for Benny to knock on the door or contemplating on visiting him herself. The latter would have killed her pride, and so she opted to wait.

"I wasn't waiting for him," she said with as much indifference as she could muster. "Get your facts straight."

"Facts?" Gracie mused as she stole the umbrella from Janie's hands and ran off to a safe distance. "You wanna talk facts? Here's one. Benny hasn't come to see you all summer."

"I hardly noticed," Janie said as she remained rooted to her spot.

"Fact. Benny has new friends, now. Newer, cuter, and dumber."

"There's no such thing as _dumber_, Gracie."

"Fact. Benny's not Benny anymore. He's _The Jet_, and I highly doubt he would be caught dead hanging around someone who corrects people's grammar."

"Now you're just being mean," Janie whimpered as she tried to hold back the tears. "Damn you! Damn you and your reality checks! _So ugly_!"

Gracie had to laugh out loud at Janie's failing limitation. She knew she had crossed a line—or two—but she had to stop nagging before Janie could revert back to her post heart-ache syndrome.

"I know it sucks hearing this from me," Gracie said as she approached Janie and wrapped her in a warm hug. "But Benny's a jerk, and I hate to see you still pining over him after what he did to you. He doesn't deserve your attention, Janie. The whole world knows you deserve better than that backstabbing sosh."

Janie only nodded her head and let her eyes grow distant. In a way, she was thankful for having a sister who was brutally honest and straight to the point. There were just some things in her life she couldn't see with her own eyes—things she didn't want to acknowledge. And despite the pain that defensively told her to keep believing in Benny, Gracie had just slapped reality back into place. _Benny simply isn't Benny anymore._ He was a neighborhood prodigy now, and it was all because of _The Beast_.

Like every child who had grown up as a Valley local, Janie heard just about every single myth and rumor that circulated around their trivial town—from the ghost stories that haunted nearly every ramshackled structure still standing to the old tales of hidden treasure buried on their turf. Of course, this was just their way of making their monotonous hometown seem much more interesting than it really was, as they were quite fed up with suburban life. The world was getting bigger, and most of them, who had never stepped foot outside The Valley, were both fascinated and terrified of the advancing changes that were developing outside their hometown. They were skeptical that anyone would ever leave to become something dynamically bigger and better. It just simply wasn't heard of…until now.

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, Janie's best friend since the first grade, was on his way to becoming a neighborhood legend. Never in her wildest dreams did she think _The Beast_ would fall from his reign of terror, and yet it happened while she was away. _The Beast_—a monster that plagued her childhood through a series of modified rumors—was defeated by her best friend, and was exposed as nothing more than a lovable mastiff.

Yes, she had only _heard_ the stories. She knew what had happened between Benny and _The Beast_, despite never being there. And yet, it changed her life. From the moment her best friend became a household name, the course of her life had changed—for the good, and even for the worst. Sad to say, the fall of _The Beast_ marked the rise of _The Jet_. It marked the beginning of reality—the beginning of the end of their childhood.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	2. Benjamin Rodriguez

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Original Publish Date: October 14, 2005

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Benjamin Rodriguez**  
"_It was just another ordinary winning from a seemingly ordinary boy—  
a boy who wasn't so much of an underdog as he was a pure natural."_

_August 20, 1962—1 Year Ago  
Monday_

The year was 1962 and, although the long summer vacation was already coming to a close, a drowsy heat still lay over the town of San Fernando Valley, California. The men washed their cars, occasionally spraying children as they playfully ran around the lawns, while the women stayed under the shades of their air-conditioned homes, sipping cool lemonade with a new issue of "Vogue" at hand.

No one in their right minds wanted to leave the perimeter of their residences. No one wanted to face the scorching heat. No one, that is, except for the sandlot boys, who were known for playing baseball through rain, sleet, hail—whatever the seasonal case may be.

Now here they were—Scotty Smalls, Hamilton Porter, Michael "Squints" Palledorous, Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennan, Kenny DeNunez, Bertram Grover Weeks, Timmy Simmons, and Tommy Simmons—all spread out over the expanse of the sandlot. And what a sight they were, with their clothes wrinkled, dirty, and sweat-stained, their hairs powered with dust, and their faces smudged with oil and dirt.

Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez was no exception to this messy, disheveled group as he took his place on the batter's box and positioned himself for a swing.

"Heads up, everyone!" Squints yelled from the outfield. "Benny's gonna bust the guts out of this ball again. I can feel it."

"Yeah, yeah, seriously," Yeah-Yeah panted as he tiredly dragged himself next to Bertram. "You think Benny even knows how to sweat?"

"I don't think that even matters," Bertram snorted. "You could probably pitch a ten-pound rock at him and he still wouldn't flinch."

The two of them laughed as they imagined a giant boulder hurling towards an unwavering Benny. It was just like him to take baseball to the next level.

Just then, a _crack_ emitted through the air, and both Yeah-Yeah and Bertram watched as the ball went flying over Mr. Mertle's roof.

"There goes another Moon Shot," Yeah-Yeah mused to himself as Benny sprinted towards home base.

It was just another ordinary winning from a seemingly ordinary boy—a boy who wasn't so much of an underdog as he was a pure natural. With long legs and an athletic build, Benny had the innate ability to get through any sport. But this was baseball, and that actually meant something to him. To Benny, baseball was _life_—and he was good. Real good.

* * *

Later that evening, Benny watched as the boys departed from the sandlot—surprisingly eager for the summer to end. Benny couldn't blame them. He knew they were excited about telling their own rendition of how they helped tame _The Beast_, as the story seemed to benefit anyone involved in the affair.

In fact, about a week ago, Benny, Ham, Kenny, and Squints stepped into restricted farm territory on the outskirts of town. The owners had phoned the police and, within minutes, the four of them were being chased down a field of wheat by Chief McClennan and his deputy officers. For some reason, the air didn't agree with Squints, who suddenly collapsed from an allergic reaction. Doctor Palledorous took care of him—both in health and in punishment. Benny, Ham, and Kenny, on the other hand, were forced into the back of Chief McClennan's police cruiser.

"Did you know Benny bust the guts out of a baseball?" Ham nervously told Chief McClennan as they rode back to town.

Chief McClennan adjusted his front mirror and glanced at Benny, who sat fidgeting in his place. "You pullin' my leg here, Porter?"

"No, sir!" Ham fervently shook his head. "Saw it with my own eyes!"

To their surprise, Chief McClennan chuckled and smiled. They spent the entire car ride talking about baseball and _The Beast_, and by the time they had arrived in The Valley, Chief McClennan simply slapped them on the wrist and dropped them off at the sandlot. It was probably easiest he had ever gone on them.

_Just one more week till school._Benny thought as he lied on the grass and stared at the purple sky. He would have stayed there all night, content with sleeping under the stars and over the soil of his sacred sandlot. To him, baseball was everything. He lived for it; breathed for it. There was nothing he wanted more in the world than to play baseball for the rest of human existence.

But time—and his father—wouldn't allow it.

Once Benny had begun nodding to sleep, he knew it was time to go home. He ran down the main street, past Mr. and Mrs. Porter's bakery, and took a shortcut behind Reverend DeNunez' church before finally making it down Telfair Avenue. By the time he had reached his house, he knew he was already late. His mother, Gabriella Rodrigeuz, stood on the porch, fumbling with the handle of their front door.

Shaking his head in mixed exasperation and endearment, Benny ran towards his mother and lightly tugged on her black curls. She quickly spun around with a start, but instantly sighed in relief as she recognized her youngest son.

"Mama," Benny said as he gently nudged his mother to the side. "Necesita ayuda?"

"Ah, m'hijo! Por favor?"

Benny approached the door knob and rattled it gently before reaching behind his mother's head and picking out a random bobby pin. He then stuck it into the key hole and began picking the lock, waiting for a light click to sound off.

This wouldn't be the first time that Gabriella Rodriguez, or Gabby as she was casually nicknamed, had locked herself out of the house. She was a bit absentminded and, at one point, had bought a book on how to improve her memory only to realize that she already owned a copy.

She was unusually unlucky, as well. Bizarre string of events always seemed to follow Gabby Rodriguez—the most notable being the afternoon she had been randomly chased by crows before being led away from the supermarket in handcuffs. Granted, she was _falsely_ accused for a robbery she didn't commit, but the fact did nothing to soothe the scandal of being tackled by police officers for resisting arrest.

"There you go, mama," Benny said in English as he pocketed the bobby pin and opened the door. "Seriously, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep a spare key under the mat. Not like we got anything worth stealing, you know."

True to his words, there really wasn't anything in the house worth taking. Most of the furniture had aged horribly, primarily as a result of the golden retriever that had once chewed through everything it could find. Any other valuable decorations the family owned had been pawned in order to pay for Susan and Adam's college tuitions. Sad to say, the Rodriguez family was not faring well with their current financial troubles, but that was nothing new to them.

"Thank you for saving me again, m'hijo," Gabriella said as she entered the kitchen with her groceries. "You're such a good child. Did I tell you you're my favorite child?"

Benny snickered. "Yeah, fifteen minutes after you got off the phone with Adam and told him the exact same thing."

"Well then you're my favorite_ third_ child. I will never have a third child quite like you."

"I'm honored," Benny bowed jokingly before he reached for the light switch. He flicked it on, expecting the kitchen to illuminate. But when he found himself still standing in the dark, he knew at once that they had missed their electricity bills.

"I'm sorry, m'hijo, but money's been a bit tight, again. You wouldn't mind working free labor at my shop this week, would you? I'm sure the sandlot won't cry if you don't show up."

Benny laughed and rolled his eyes. "Course not, mama." He knew that both of his parents were working very hard to pay off old debts, overdue bills, and some of Susan and Adam's tuition fees. As a jobless teenager, he didn't have the right to complain. He didn't want to.

"We'll make it through, m'hijo. We always do. When I married your father, we knew we were going to be leading a hard life. But we also knew we were going to be happy, and that's all that really matters. Right?"

Benny nodded his head, although he really couldn't understand if his parents' fragile relationship was truly a "happy" one.

"Besides," Gabriella continued. "We still have running water. And you stink. Why don't you take advantage of that before seeing the Reynolds family?"

Benny perked at the mention of his next door neighbors' name.

"They're home? Already? Bitchin'!"

"Yes," Gabriella perched happily as she turned around to finish stocking her groceries. "But please, Benjamin. Don't curse. Did you know that a millimeter of your weenie shrinks every time you say a bad word under my roof? Don't ask me how, but—"

She paused, hearing the front door slam shut. Turning around, her son was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, goodness," Gabriela laughed to herself as she continued with her chore. "So much for being a good child."

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	3. The Girl Next Door

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Original Publish Date: October 14, 2005

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Girl Next Door**  
"_He thought back on the day he first met Jane Reynolds,  
and wondered what would have happened had he not  
met the girl who introduced him to baseball—the game  
his life revolved around."_

In his anticipation, Benny ran towards the front porch of the Reynolds' residence which, unlike his own home, was well-maintained and had been improved throughout the years to include extra rooms for the growing family. The only flaw the structure had, however, was that it had been built much too close to Benny's house, making it very easy to not only converse between windows, but to also see and hear what should not be witnessed. Needless to say, the Rodriguez and Reynolds families did not have many secrets to hide from each other.

"Goodness, look at you!" The oriental face of Sue Reynolds illuminated as she opened the front door and enclosed Benny into her arms. "You must have grown at least half a foot since I last saw you!"

Benny returned the petite Japanese woman's warm embrace. "How was Hawaii?"

"Wonderful, of course," she chirped as she gently pulled away from him and sighed. "Janie made first place in the Youth Ballet Competition, you know?"

"She told me."

"Did she now?" Sue mused. "Then why you haven't told her about your summer incident with…oh, what was it called? _The Fat Animal_?"

"The Beast," Benny chuckled. "You heard about that already?"

"From the prodigy's own mother," Sue said in mock seriousness as she raised her right hand up.

She then laughed before dropping her hand to pat Benny's shoulder, knowing it was time to end their conversation. "You can go ahead and see her upstairs," she said. "I'd escort you myself, but I _absolutely _have to see that scatterbrained mother of yours. She still has my blender, you know."

And then Mrs. Reynolds closed the door behind Benny, leaving him to enter the house and be greeted by the pleasant smell of pine and soap.

Unlike his own home, which was sparsely cluttered with old decaying furniture, the Reynolds' house was always brightly lit, well furnished, and impeccably clean. Benny removed his shoes in the doorway—a custom the Reynolds family enforced, and then walked down the hallway with an idiotic grin on his face. He laughed silently, realizing how much the valley felt more like home now that his best friend of ten years was back.

"What's with the smile, Rodriguez?" A cheerful voice suddenly chirped.

Startled, Benny snapped his head up to the top of the staircase where a slim figure stood watching him, and then he smiled a little more. _Janie. _

The young girl stood with her hands behind her back, and her soft, dark brown hair tied in a messy bun. She looked just as awkward as always with her solid white dress hugging her thin form and her stainless steel braces plastered on her smile.

"Hey you," she greeted excitedly before hopping onto the rails and sliding down the staircase.

Benny's eyes widened as he watched her accelerate towards him, and before he could even register to move, Janie had crashed onto his chest and enveloped him in a chock-hold hug.

"I missed you so much!" She squealed as she pulled away and vigorously ruffled his already-disheveled hair, completely unfazed by the dust and dirt that floated all around.

"Jesus, Janie! Way to make a guy feel missed. I think you broke one of my ribs," Benny said as he nursed the side of his torso.

"Yeah, I've gotten pretty strong. Take a look at my squirt guns!" Benny chuckled as she pulled up her nonexistent sleeves and flexed her thin arm. "That's the work of three ballet programs a week. Go me!"

"Impressive," Benny mused. "But not as impressive as this," he added as he pulled his shirt up to reveal the ripples of his abdomen. "This is the work of a hundred push-ups and crunches a day, plus seventy hours of baseball a week. No classes necessary."

"Impressive," Janie retorted as she raised one of her naturally curved eye brows. "You're not a stick anymore. Good for you! I never would have thought that my tall, scrawny friend would grow to have a nice set of abs and some man boobies."

"They're called pecs, Janie."

"They're bigger than mine!"

Benny dropped his shirt down and burst into genuine laughter. "Really? Why don't you stand next to me so we can compare pec sizes then?"

Janie squealed in alarm as Benny lunged towards her and tickled her knees—pretending to lift up her cotton white dress.

"Come on, Janie. It's nothing I've never seen before."

"Playing doctor when we were seven does _not_ count," Janie said in-between fits of laughter before shoving herself away from Benny. "And is that really all you can say after I've been gone for two months? Couldn't you have said something like, _I missed you too, Janie,_ or _I was so bored without you!_" Then she paused. "Or…maybe you were just too busy being the center of neighborhood gossip to really care, huh?"

"What? You know about that?" Benny questioned her with a hint of disappointment. "I was saving that story for when you got here."

"And let you do the exaggerating? Please."

Benny chuckled at her playfulness. "Alright, Janie. Alright. Sit down and let me tell you about my summer before you have another hissy fit."

Benny found himself describing the events of the summer with details his last English teacher would have been proud of. As he told his story, Janie continued to smile and laugh, apparently in good spirit. But then again, it was always her nature to smile. The girl was a complete optimist, or so she tried to be. "I hate school," she'd say. "But I like learning."

As a child, Janie grew up to be extremely versatile. Her father, who was once a trouble-maker in his younger days, encouraged his daughters to take up activities fitted for boys. In fact, when asked by his mother (an immigrant from England) what kind of intellectual knowledge he had passed onto his children, he answered with "the art and skills of poker, Madame."

Finding no amusement in her son's way of upbringing his children, Diana Laidley Reynolds often visited in an effort to "make proper ladies" of her granddaughters. In time, Janie became skilled in not only baseball and cheap card tricks, but also ballet and the piano forte. Her French, however, proved to be a disgrace.

Sue Reynolds, although kind and soft-spoken, also kept an iron hand when it came to raising her daughters. She was a devout Christian, a strict mother, and a traditional thinker who brought her children to mass every Sunday mornings, ensured that they accomplished all their chores, and never accepted an academic grade lower than an A. Needless to say, Janie and her sisters were instilled with the values of right and wrong, commitment to God and family, and the importance of educational brilliance.

One would think such children would feel trapped and overworked, but that was not the case for Janie, especially when absorbing information was so natural to her.

To the world, Janie was the goody-goody two shoe they wanted to avoid. But to Benny, she was one of the most passionate people he had ever met. Despite being academically intelligent, Benny knew Janie could be absent-minded when dealing with mediocre things. He knew she was a heavy daydreamer who put fantasy before logic, and frequently tried to see "the sunny side of the street." That was a quality Benny admired about his best friend, but it was also a quality that made him protective over her. She was naïve—a child who never let it cross her mind that people could easily screw her over.

Like their own mothers, Benny and Janie were as different as night and day. No one could understand how these two dissimilar individuals, much less a boy and a girl, could become best friends.

But Benny understood it.

He thought back on the day he first met Jane Reynolds, and wondered what would have happened had he not met the girl who introduced him to baseball—the game his life revolved around.

* * *

The year was 1952, and it was a Saturday morning when four-year old Benny sat on the steps of his own home—as usual. None of the other children ever asked him to play, nor did he have the courage to join them himself. It always disappointed him when he spent his afternoons sitting on the front porch, waiting to be approached, only to watch the other children return home without ever looking his way.

Then, one morning, Benny was invited him to play a game of hide-and-go-seek with a group of boys. No one would fully understand the elation that swelled in this little boy's heart. No one, that is, except for the strange little girl who lived next door…

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were proud to say that they had the love and adoration of three little Einsteins, thank you very much. At the moment, their middle daughter, Janie Reynolds, stood on the porch with her granddad, who sat on the rocking chair with a book on his lap.

"And then, Prince Charming swept Cinderella away…on his Tritone Cadillac Speedboat Five-Thousand. _The end_." The old man shut the book pensively before turning his attention to his granddaughter, who only continued to give him a blank stare. He chuckled, knowing full well that she couldn't understand much of what he was saying.

"Nap, Janie?"

_That_, the little girl did understand, and she scrunched her nose in distaste before jumping off the porch, intent on staying awake. She began to run up and down the lawn when the sounds of laughter caught her attention.

"What an idiot!" Benny heard a boy jeer from outside the trash bin he had hid in. It was locked, and he was trapped inside.

"Open the door! Open it! Open it! Help!"

Despite Benny's pleads, the taunts continued, and he felt the trash bin tilt back and forth until it fell on its side with a loud thud. Benny cried in pain as his chin slammed against the interior of the empty trash bin. He then held the aching pain in his jaw as tears fell freely from his eyes, but the rocking did not stop. And just when it seemed as if Benny was going to vomit from the constant motion, he heard a high-pitched voice shriek from across the yard.

"Stop!"

"What are you gonna do about it, little girl?"

Benny tried to cease his crying, wanting to decipher what was going on outside. All he could hear, however, was the sound of another child squealing in distress as his bullies turned his attention towards her.

"You better shut it, or I'll break your doll."

Benny may not have been able to see what was going on, but he feared for the girl.

Suddenly, a solid _pow_ echoed through the air, shortly followed by a whimper, and then gradual crying. What confused Benny, however, was that it was not the crying of the expected little girl.

"She hit him!" Benny heard the boys say with disbelief. "Run! Run before her Jap mom comes out."

Footsteps faded into the distance, leaving behind a calm silence. Not long afterwards, the door opened, releasing the odor and allowing Benny to breathe fully.

He crawled out and found himself facing up to a little girl. His savior. Her hair was slightly messy as curly strands of very dark brown hair escaped from her braided pigtails. She was short and chubby, and she looked down on him in the same way his mother would when Susan and Adam would ostracize him from their games. She stood holding a strange looking doll with shiny black hair and eyes that very much resembled the little girl's. They were small, brown, and almond shaped. They were foreign eyes to Benny, who had never seen an Asian child before.

"Herro. Watashi wa Jein desu. Namae wa?" Benny gave her a strange look as tears stopped falling from his face. A little embarrassed that he was rescued by this strange, alien girl, Benny stood up and pushed her down.

"I don't understand this _taka-waka_ thing you're saying!"

And with that, he ran home with as much pride as he could carry, but not before trampling the hina doll the other boys unsuccessfully broke.

One year later, five-year old Benny stepped out of his house and found himself face to face with his neighbor and enemy, Jane Reynolds. After exchanging a couple of juvenile insults, Benny inquired her about the bat she held in her hand.

"It's a baseball bat," she said knowingly before striking a haughty expression. "Here. Let me show you how it's done."

Benny had been too curious to let his pride reject her demonstration. He watched as she held a white ball in her hand, tossed it in the air, and flawlessly hit it with her wooden bat.

Of course, Benny stubbornly told her that baseball didn't seem as hard as it looked, and she earnestly wanted to prove him wrong. She handed Benny her baseball bat and, sad to say, Benny was sent to the hospital with a concussion.

"Look at the bright side," Janie had said before the paramedics had taken him away. "You hit the ball!"

A week later, Janie presented Benny paper cranes as an apology gift. It was what sparked their friendship to begin with.

She claimed that a thousand of them would grant him one wish, and so a thousand paper cranes is what her tiny hands mustered. She had every intention of making Benny wish himself back to health, as was the norm, but Benny didn't think anything of it. Even as a five year old boy, Benny wasn't much of believer, especially with an older brother and sister who found pleasure in disproving the existence of Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. No, Benny was more of a skeptic, and he didn't believe folded paper could grant wishes.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	4. Family Matters

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Original Publish Date: October 14, 2005

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Family Matters**  
"_It was during these moments at the Reynolds' house  
that Benny could temporarily forget his own problems.  
They always made him feel as if he were part of their family.  
A part of their lives."_

Benny went home to take a shower before returning to the Reynolds' house for dinner, as Sue had invited him. Feeling much more presentable in the only pair of khakis that he owned and a white collared shirt, Benny knocked on the door and was welcomed by Sue and Noah's youngest daughter, Claire. At four years old, she had already wormed her way into a special part of Benny's heart. It was him, after all, whom she took her first walking steps towards.

"Hiya, Benny!" She squealed in delight as he scooped her up in his arms.

"Hey, Claire! You know you're not supposed to be opening the door by yourself," he gently chided the little girl, causing her to pout in defiance.

"But mama said I could help around the house! She's busy making _pas-getti_ right now."

"Oh, is she? And what about your papa? Or your sisters?"

The little girl put a finger under her chin and thought hard. "Um, papa is resting because he had a hard day at work. And Diane went back to _college_ so she can have parties with _hoooo-ligans. _That's what papa said she was doing…"

"And Gracie?"

"Mama said not to bother her because she's having a nervous breakdown." Benny had to laugh at the child. She was honestly oblivious to the hilarity of her comments.

"And what do your mama and papa have to say about Janie?"

"She's in her room making herself beautiful for you."

Benny rolled his eyes. "Yep, that's definitely something that would come out of your mom's mouth," he said to the little girl before taking off his shoes and carrying her to the kitchen.

"Welcome back, Benny!" Sue greeted over her shoulder as she stirred the spaghetti sauce. The aroma was enough to make Benny salivate. "Why don't you go ahead and take a seat in the dining room. Claire, honey, do help mommy by getting your sisters to come downstairs?"

Benny put the little girl down before looking around the kitchen, intent on being useful. "Is there anything I can do to help out?"

Mrs. Reynolds shot him a challenging look. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Uh, I only know how to eat."

The comment caused Mrs. Reynolds to laugh good-naturedly. It didn't surprise Benny at all that Noah Reynolds would fall in love with someone as warm and pleasant as Sue, even if she was…_different_.

Back in 1941, Noah Reynolds was a naval aviator for the USS Enterprise. It was when he was stationed in Oahu, Hawaii, that he met and fell in love with a local girl by the name of Tsurara Kurosawa, or Sue as she was simply called, whose family was facing imprisonment as a result of the war. Luckily for them, however, Hawaii was home to over a hundred-thousand Japanese individuals, making it was nearly impossible to place them into concentration camps.

Within two years, Noah eloped with Sue, whose Japanese lineage was a source of great racism. They eventually moved to Roscoe Hills in San Fernando Valley where anti-miscegenation laws—which banned interracial marriages—were repealed. Sad to say, however, anti-Japanese sentiments did not diminish within the community, and the family grew accustomed to stigma they received.

"Very well then," Mrs. Reynolds said as she turned off the stove top and faced Benny. "Since there's nothing else left for you to do here, I suggest you run along and wait in the dining room with Mr. Reynolds. He needs the company.

Benny nodded his head obediently before exiting the kitchen and entering the dining room, which looked as if it belonged in a French manor rather than a suburban house. It was bright, uncluttered, but utterly extravagant with its glass and iron wrought table, upholstered satin chairs, embellished chandelier, and delicate antiques that could make any man feel watchful of his big, clumsy movements.

"How's it going, little man?" Mr. Reynolds greeted him over his newspaper. _Little man_. It was a pet name Mr. Reynolds had used on Benny since he was four years old. Truth be told, Mr. Reynolds was more of a parent to him than his own father—a fact he hurt to admit.

"I heard about your near-death experience from your mother." Mr. Reynolds continued with a lazy drawl. The man always had a vague southern accent that no one could always quite catch.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a near-death experience."

"I didn't think so," Mr. Reynolds chuckled as he folded his newspaper and put it on the table. He then straightened his gray argyle sweater, which made him look more like a strapping professor from a prominent institution rather than a military veteran and the father of four.

"How was your trip to Hawaii?" Benny asked, attempting to change the subject as he took his seat next to Mr. Reynolds.

The older man sighed in exasperation. "It was great. Real great. Tremendously marvelous. Totally groovy. It was a _gas_!"

Benny chuckled at the man's phony use of enthusiastic words. "Didn't go well with the in-laws, huh?"

"A summer with Satan would have been more welcoming," he muttered just as Claire skipped into the room with Gracie in tow. "You know the saying, '_when you marry a woman, you also marry her mother_'?"

Benny nodded his head.

"Well it's damn true. Mrs. Reynolds's father was tolerable. But her mother—_good God…_"

"Well, papa, I guess it's lucky for Benny that he's on mama's good side then," Gracie intervened as she took a seat across from Benny and slumped forward.

"Young lady," Mr. Reynolds began to scold. "What did I tell you about putting your elbows on the table?"

"Mama lets me do it," Gracie retorted nonchalantly.

"And what makes your mama's rules any better than mine? I'm the father of the house, aren't I?"

"Of course. But with the way you made marriage sound like just a few seconds ago, I would have thought that women wore the pants in the relationship."

"That's true, but mama's not the one paying for your art classes, now is she?" Mr. Reynolds attempted to laugh with as much wickedness as he could muster, but his daughter remained indifferent to his teasing.

"You are so un-cool, papa. By the way, Benny, are you going to ask my sister out already? And don't give me that 'we're just friends' excuse."

Benny couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You already know the answer to the question, Gracie. Why ask it again?"

"I'm only giving you the boost you need," she said. "Besides, you're almost fifteen, aren't you? I thought your balls would have dropped by now."

Benny tried to choke down the playful and vulgar comebacks that threatened to erupt from his mouth while Mr. Reynolds began to chastise his daughter.

"Your mother doesn't allow that kind of language, girlie," the older man scolded as he lightly smacked Gracie's forehead. "You're in front of a guest."

"Oh papa, Benny's barely a guest in our house. He's home more often than Diane is, and she's our own flesh and blood! That says a lot about—hey, what are you doing under the table, brat?"

"I'm looking for Benny's balls," Claire's enthusiastic voice emitted from under the table. "You said he dropped them, right?"

Mr. Reynolds stared down at his oldest daughter in the room. "See what kind of words you're putting into your sister's mouth?"

Gracie only yawned before dropping her head to the table, and before Mr. Reynolds could pick on her for her poor table manners again, Mrs. Reynolds entered the dining room with a large tray resting on her shoulder. Janie followed with a similar tray and, within minutes, the food was set on the table and every person in the house was seated.

"It's not every day that you cook this much food, Mrs. Reynolds," Benny pointed out as he picked up his chopsticks—a tool he had learned to use after years and years of dinner invites from the family. "What's the special event?"

"Well, I just figured that since you and Janie are starting high school next week, it would be fitting that we have a mini celebration. Isn't that right, papa?"

"Mmhmm," Mr. Reynolds mumbled as he began stacking his plate with fried dumplings.

"It's a rite of passage into teenage life, is it not, papa?"

"That's right," he continued to scarf the fried dumplings down his mouth.

"Soon enough, they'll be gone and leaving for college like Diane did, yes papa?"

"Yep," he said hastily as he engaged himself in a chopstick battle with Gracie. A dumpling on their side of the table rolled from side to side as father and daughter fought for the last piece.

"And they'll be partying and having premarital sex like wild hippies on television, right _papa_?"

"Absolutely, darling! Now pass me the soy sauce."

Benny passed Janie a laughing smile, and they both chuckled under their breaths. It was during these moments at the Reynolds' house that Benny could temporarily forget his own problems. They always made him feel as if he were part of their family. A part of their lives. Mind you, he loved his mother and father, and his brother and sister. But that didn't change the fact that the grass was always greener on their side.

* * *

The smell of scented candles filled Benny's nose as he stepped into the dimly lit foyer. He had just come home from dinner at the Reynolds house with a plate of leftovers, hoping he wouldn't run into his parents. No doubt, his mother and father were in their rooms arguing about the electricity bills.

For as long as Benny could remember, it had been difficult for his parents to support their family of five. Even Gabriella Rodriguez—a woman—had to find several jobs in order to keep the family afloat. Up till now, she still worked as a photographer at Midge's Photography Shop, which was doomed for closure as a result of tough competition against Dream Shots.

As for Benny's father, Rafael Rodriguez, he had quit his job as a carpenter to become an architect for a brand new firm in Los Angeles. He was often out of town, which didn't surprise or upset Benny at all. He knew his father was somewhat of a workaholic who had pushed his older brother and sister into becoming over-achievers.

"Dios mío! I can't believe you'd rather spend your free time kissing up to those eggheads you call your superiors," Benny heard his mother yell as he settled himself in bed that night.

"You know we need the money, Gabby."

"Money, money, money. Why can't you just ask your father for help?"

Benny could have sworn he felt his father tense as silence filled the air. They normally pretended he didn't have a father.

"I've told you a thousand times," Rafe began through clenched teeth, "not to mention _him_ under the roof of this house. I disowned him the moment he disowned me."

"Rafe, please! Can you just, for a moment, forget your pride? You said so yourself. We _need_ the money. Ambrosio is offering us everything he has. He already put the children in his will."

"Only because he has nobody left."

"Rafe, the man lost a wife and two sons—your mother and your brothers! Don't you feel some pity for him?"

Benny heard his father snort. "It's his own fault."

That was the last thing Benny's father said about the subject before his parents went on another wave of arguments.

From what Benny knew, his grandfather, Ambrosio Rodriguez, was a huge political figure in the early part of the century. He was an austere man who prided his Spanish ancestors for establishing _Las Californias_. No doubt, Ambrosio was quite ashamed when his son, Rafe, purposely named his children after American heroes (Susan B. Anthony, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin).

"And _why_ are you even thinking about moving us to Riverside?" Gabby continued the argument. "First it was New York, then Louisiana, then Tampa? Why not just forget moving altogether?"

"You know Loma Linda Academy is near Riverside. If I get that promotion, we can finally send Benny to a proper institution. I can't believe you'd keep your son away from a prestigious opportunity!"

"Oh don't point your finger at me! Benny may not be as academically successful as Susan and Adam, but he's happy here, Rafe. He's happy. Isn't that what matters? Isn't that why we got married? To be poor, but happy?"

"We've tried poor and happy, Gabby. And you know what? _Not _so happy. Besides, Benjamin will make new friends," Rafe said calmly. "He's not as melodramatic as you are."

A loud crash broke the argument.

"How's that for melodrama!" Gabby yelled as another crash emitted from the room across the hall.

"God damn it, Gabby! Why is it that every time we talk about this, you always have to throw something at me?"

"Is it my fault you're so big-headed that you make for such an easy target?"

"Hijo de—Gabby! Maldita sea!" Another crash emitted from the room, sparking another wave of arguments that was spoken in Spanish when Rafe and Gabby could not speak English fast enough.

Unable to stand the never-ending quarrel between his mother and father, Benny threw his sheets aside and stepped out onto his balcony. For the first time in weeks, the night weather was pleasantly breezy, and so the bars felt cool against Benny's hands as he pulled his legs over the rails and reached out for Janie's balcony.

The short distance between the two stages was short enough to be considered "safe," and so it didn't take much effort for Benny cross to the other side and pull himself over the iron balustrade. He then approached the glass doors and peeked through the translucent curtains, seeing Janie's restless form under her heavy bed sheets.

_She's awake_, Benny thought as he slid the door open and stepped into the dimply-lit room. It was clean, uncluttered, and very elegant with its light blue walls, white wooden panels, matching crown moldings, and silken scarves. A small, canopy bed draped with translucent curtains epitomized the timeless glamour of the room, along with a vanity table embellished in weathered silver.

"Hey Benny," Janie whispered quietly as he lied next to her, keeping a decent amount of space between them. "Are they at it again?"

"Yeah. It's nothing," Benny tried to seem unfazed. "My dad's been talking about moving us to this place and that place since I was ten. It'll never happen."

"But he sounded pretty serious this time. And Loma Linda Academy is a pretty good school, you know?"

"Whatever. I don't care. He can't turn me into Susan or Adam."

Janie nodded her head in understanding, thinking about Benny's siblings.

John Adam Rodriguez, Benny's older brother, had been what the whole town considered the perfect son. He graduated before the summer as valedictorian, served the student body as their charming and tactical president, and led the varsity football team as their captain.

Benny and Adam's older sister, Susan Anthony Rodriguez, had been similarly popular as Adam. She was considered to be the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood, being a spitting image of her mother, and had once been crowned the town's Valley Vista Queen of '59.

"Damn then, sometimes," Benny said as he thought about Adam and Susan. "Damn them for setting the bar up so high. My dad's always up my ass about how I need to be more like my Adam. I can't remember a time when he was actually proud of something I did."

Janie remained silent, although it was hard for her to truly understand the grief Benny's father placed. She didn't have it as bad. Quite frankly, she didn't have it bad at all.

"Well, look on the bright side," Janie attempted to perk up. "You have four years to try and fill up Adam and Susan's shoes."

Benny snorted at her optimism. "You want to make a bet on that?"

"No. I don't like gambling. It's a sin."

Benny snickered. "You're making that up because you're bad at betting. The bible doesn't directly condemn gambling."

"How would you know, Benny? You've rarely step foot inside a church."

"I did while you were away."

"And you didn't burn?" Janie jokingly whispered.

"Nope. God is alright with me spending my Sundays playing baseball."

"Why?"

"Because…he thinks it's better that I play baseball while thinking about church, instead of going to church thinking about baseball."

The comment caused Janie to choke into laughter as she tried to keep quite. "You're coming back in the next life as a toilet brush, Benny. I swear it."

The two of them continued to chuckle under their breaths as they persisted with their playful banter. Her company was exactly what Benny needed to take his mind off of his problems.

Minutes later, silence soon engulfed the dark room. Even the yelling next door had ceased and, within seconds, Benny heard soft snores. He looked down and smiled as he realized Janie had immediately fallen asleep, and then he silently thanked her for being a source of comfort—an unconditional gift when times were difficult to tolerate.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	5. Of Brains and Brawn

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: July 27, 2009

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Of Brains and Brawn**  
"_Benny—the boy they had always known to be the most level-headed—  
was throwing repetitive punches, each blow rendering his victim helpless.  
They had never seen him act so violently before."_

_August 27, 1962  
Monday_

It was the first day of school, and all Benny really wanted was to keep a relatively low profile. He did _not_ want to be acknowledged as the ever-so-popular Susan Rodriguez' little brother. He did _not_ want to live up to Adam's reputation. Granted, his family and friends knew he was a mediocre child, but to have the entire community realize his shortcomings would've been another blow to his ego.

Yes, Benny wished to keep a low profile this school year, and he _would _have gotten his wish…

…had he not decided to tango with _The Beast_.

"Is that who I think it is?" Benny heard someone whisper as he entered the Student Forum of Roscoe Hills High School.

"That's kid who outran Mr. Mertle's dog."

"Yeah, I think that's him. Are those his friends?"

Benny walked awkwardly next to Janie as the busy crowd shot him curious and entertained eyes. Up a head, Ham and Kenny clandestinely basked in the attention, feeling smug about their slight boost of fame. And yet…

Something didn't feel right.

Benny couldn't place his finger on it, but there was something tense about the way people looked at him. It made him feel uneasy, and he found himself quickening his pace. He furrowed his eyes in suspicion, noticing a group of girls in the corner. They scanned him in an up and down motion before cupping their hands around their mouths before speaking. _Gossip_. He noticed a couple of senior boys in their letterman jackets smirking as they walked passed him, keeping their teasing eyes on him until their necks could no longer twist. _Mockery._

All at once, Benny realized what was going on, and before he could quicken his pace to a near sprint, he had accidentally run his shoulder against another boy.

"Slow down, you knucklehead! There ain't no gorilla-monster here to chase you!"

The entire forum laughed at Benny's expense, causing him to stiffen uncomfortably.

"Shoulda' knocked on the door and asked for the ball, you air head," someone else in the crowd had said, collecting another wave of laughter.

Benny looked around the room, attempting to keep his cool. He watched as Ham and Kenny stood rooted to their spots, anger evident on their faces. _So much for keeping a low-profile,_ Benny thought in exasperation as he turned around to face Janie. To his surprise, she wasn't there, and he suddenly realized that he had left her behind in his effort to quicken his pace.

"Benny! Over here," Janie yelled.

Benny looked around the crowd and found a pair of arms waving frantically above the crowd. Poor Janie had been trying to shove her way through the mass of people in order to catch up with him, but it seemed as if no one was aware of her existence. A large, beefy boy with hardly any neck had pushed past her, knocking her smaller frame into and older student, who annoyingly shoved her back in another direction. In an instant, Benny grabbed Janie's arm and pulled her to his side, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder as they walked together and parted the Red Sea.

Janie comforted the boys once they had retrieved their schedules and escaped the forum. It certainly was unsettling to see so many people treat Benny so badly, what with his status of being "a nice guy" and his repute for being unapproachably good-looking. Janie was sure the latter had to count for something in the shallowness of current society, as Benny always seemed to benefit from being every girl's object of infatuation. _If only they could see him in his morning glory, with dried toothpaste on his chin and pillow wrinkles on his face. Hardly debonair_, Janie thought laughingly.

But at that moment, it didn't matter how handsome Benny was, or how nice he had always been. The high school scene was cruel, and Benny was the first target of many hallway gossips that would ensue throughout the entire year. The best he could do was to simply move on with life and accept his misfortunes.

* * *

After separating from Kenny, whose classes were on the opposite wing, Benny, Ham, and Janie headed towards their first period of the day (and the only class they shared): Biology, room 309.

The room was brilliantly illuminated, but not by the sunlight that should have been radiating into the room. Instead, plastic blinds covered the windows, while rows and rows of overhead lighting lit up the cold sterile room. There were no posters on the walls. No diagrams. Only dark green chalkboards covered the stark white walls, while three rows of black, acid-resistant science tables filled the center of the room. In the back of the room, partially blocking the windows, were wooden shelves housing jars of assorted, lifeless amphibians.

Benny followed Janie into the room, feeling a sense of foreboding. There was an air of strictness that emitted from the room, and he wasn't sure he liked it. He followed Janie blindly, but suddenly lost his train of thoughts after he realized she had seated them in the middle of the classroom.

"I thought you like sitting in the front," Benny told Janie as he shot her a quizzical look.

"Typically, yes. But this room gives me the hibbie-jeebies," she cringed.

Benny laughed at her reasoning and sat down, feeling satisfied. His feeling of contentedness was short-lived, however, when a severe-looking man suddenly strode into the classroom.

"I do not tolerate misconduct nor do I put up with any forms of silliness," the stern man suddenly boomed as he slammed his textbook on his desk. All attention instantly diverted from Benny to the authoritarian man, whose thinning silver hair didn't seem to match his well-built form. They then watched as he harshly scrawled his name on the chalkboard—_Dr. Daniel Dameron_—before facing them with a stern look.

"I don't believe in all this first day of school introductions, either. I believe that if you have the handbook, and you can read the handbook, you should be responsible for knowing the handbook. Get it. Read it. Know it."

Benny looked at Janie, who seemed to share his instant astonishment.

"This is supposed to be our teacher for the _entire _year?" Benny whispered to her in disbelief. Unfortunately for him, he misjudged the distance to the front of the class, and his words instantly reached the stringent Dr. Dameron.

"Well, well, well. You must be…_Benny_ Rodriguez," Dr. Dameron articulated. For a while, he remained silent as he continued to stare at Benny, who felt the itch to squirm in his seat. Benny tried to look as unruffled as he could.

"Tell me," Dr. Dameron continued. "What are the subgroups of carbohydrates?"

_How the hell am I supposed to know that? _Benny's calm and cool façade wavered as a blank stare took its place. "I—I don't know, sir."

"Then tell me what type of protein accelerates a chemical reaction?"

Again, Benny was unable to speak while the rest of the class silently laughed. Was he supposed to know all this?

"What about oxygen?" Dr. Dameron continued, sounding almost triumphant. "What is the importance of oxygen in the production of ATP?"

Unable to answer the question again, Benny instinctively looked at Janie, who was shooting Dr. Dameron a suspicious frown. As if she could sense his distress, Janie shot her hand in the air.

"Sir," she said without waiting to be called on. "An oxygen molecule acts as a final electron acceptor in the final stage of respiration—the electron transport chain. More specifically…"

"I wasn't asking you." Dr. Dameron snapped suddenly. This sudden outburst towards his friend caused Benny to furrow his brows in anger. _Who the hell is this ass?_ He looked at Janie, who didn't seem to be angry at all. Rather, she was thinking, all the while sustaining her look of suspicion towards their insensitive teacher.

"If there's one thing I hate more than students who aren't prepared for my class, it's a know-it-all student who speaks out of turn," Dr. Dameron continued to in a stern tone.

"But sir," Janie continued to speak up. "According to your handbook, students are not expected to be knowledgeable in the curriculum they are about to begin, unless they are returning from a pre-requisite, which Mr. Rodriguez and every student in this _introductory_ class has not done." She paused. "It _is_ in the handbook, sir."

The entire class snickered and whispered in hushed tones, clearly siding with Janie against the tyrannical instructor. Benny felt the sudden urge to high-five her on the spot.

"That's a warning, freshman," Dr. Dameron said firmly as he slapped a meter stick onto the table in front of him. He then turned around and began writing on the board, never once bothering Benny again. He even ignored Janie, who had raised her hands multiple times to ask questions.

"Every other day, you'll have a quiz," Dr. Dameron stated briskly at the end of class. "Every other Friday, you'll have a test." And every other day you don't have a quiz or test, anticipate a possible pop quiz _or_ test."

_Ah, Jesus_, Benny thought.

On the other hand, perhaps it was to their advantage that Dr. Dameron ignored them. Any attention they would have gotten from him probably would have been a negative one anyway.

* * *

Lunch had finally arrived, and Benny couldn't wait to be alone with his friends. The first day of school simply wasn't as he had anticipated.

Once he had met up with Ham and Janie, the three of them went outside and sat under the shade of a large, welcoming tree. It was the only place they could join Kenny, who seemed to be taking all of his classes in the West Wing.

Benny sat down with his back against the tree and rested an arm on his propped knee. Across from him, Kenny shrugged out of his light jacket and spread it on the grass before seating himself on it.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Ham asked Kenny as chunks of food flew from his full mouth onto Kenny's plate. Kenny cursed under his breath and shoved his tray towards Ham, who accepted it with a shrug.

"Do you guys remember Scott Phillips?" Janie suddenly blurted out of nowhere. The question brought out a sudden burst of laughter from Ham, causing more chunks of food to come fly out of his mouth.

"That flake? We beat him and his junior league chums in a baseball game over the summer! Why bring _his_ name up?" Janie looked at Benny, who only gave her a questioning glance.

Scott Phillips was the sandlot boys' only enemy. His father was a workaholic business man who made a fortune in some kind of foreign investment, and so Scott moved to the nicer side of town—after meeting Benny, of course, and establishing his detestation of him.

"I saw him today. Scott Phillips." All three heads snapped up as they stared at Janie, hoping this was just a poor attempt to trick them.

"That's impossible," Kenny said. "Phillips lives in the other side of town. Don't they have some top notch private academy over there for snots like him?"

"Apparently, they don't," Janie grumbled as she stabbed her carrot with her plastic chopstick. "Because he was in my health class today."

"Ahah! Sucks for you," Ham laughed. "I'd hate to be stuck in the same school with that guy, much less the same room!"

"It gets worse. He's my partner for a long-term project we're supposed to do." The fact caused Ham to double over and laugh harder, making his puff of orange curls shake with his body.

"Ahahaha! Oh my God! I feel so sorry for you!"

"Laugh all you want," Janie grinned. "You'll have to see him at practices for junior varsity baseball." Ham's laughter died as Janie's words hit him. "You know darn well that he's good enough to tryout and make the team."

"I hate him," Ham whispered as he zoned out. His depression didn't last long, however, as the mentioning of the school's baseball team caught his bigger interest."

"Hey Benny," Ham began. "Are you gonna try out for the JV baseball team?" Benny nodded his head. It was the only thing he looked forward to, and there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to make it into the team.

"What about you guys?" Benny asked Kenny and Ham. The two looked at each other before simultaneously agreeing. "Hell yeah!"

"It's gonna be out of sight!" Kenny cheered. "With you, me, and Ham on the team, JV will be invincible. I bet we could even thrash the school's varsity team!"

The two boys continued to cheerfully express their excitement for the upcoming tryouts while Benny passed Janie a knowing grin. There was no doubt in his mind that the boys would certainly break records once they joined the team.

Unaware to them, however, was a group of boys who silently stood nearby, listening to their conversation.

"Are you listening to this, Dylan?" A tall boy with chin-length blonde hair asked.

"Yeah," the boy named Dylan, who seemed to be the leader, replied coolly. "Sounds like rubbish to me."

The three boys behind the one named Dylan sneered as Benny turned to observe them. They were an intimidating bunch, with their good looks, tall and built frames, and matching black and red jackets. It was the Varsity patches that were neatly stitched onto each of their sleeves, however, that grabbed Benny's attention.

The patches depicted a baseball placed in front of two crossed bats. Above the picture were the words "Henry Foster High School," and below it were "Varsity Baseball."

Benny groaned inwardly. _Why do these jerks always come in packs?_

"You got something to say to us?" Ham glared as the group slowly approached them.

"The name's Dylan. Dylan Royce. And what's yours, Big Red?" Ham ignored the nickname.

"Ham Porter," Ham retorted bluntly.

"Ham? What kind of parents would name their kid after sandwich meat?" The boys snickered and Benny felt the sudden urge to laugh himself. These bullies didn't seem worth the energy to throw his anger at. Unfortunately, Ham didn't feel the same way.

"Look," Ham began ignoring Dylan's introduction. "You're wasting our lunch time. So scram." The boys looked at each other before returning their attention to Ham.

"As it so happens, you're sitting on OUR spot." Ham furrowed his brows.

"The hell it is! I don't see your name written on it, pal!" Dylan raised his chin haughtily.

"As a matter of fact, it is." His eyes moved towards the tree above Benny's head where the bark had been carved with "VBT". Ham looked a bit dejected, but mustered as much pride as he could manage.

"Do you even know who _we_are?" Kenny finally spoke up.

"Freshmen, no doubt." One of the cronies murmured from behind.

"The Sandlot kids," Ham proudly announced. The boys looked at each other in false excitement.

"Oh golly jeepers! It's the Sandlot kids!" The blonde with chin-length hair joked in sarcasm and they all doubled over in laughter. He even went so far as to pull his pants down and mooned Kenny. "Sign it! Sign it!"

The act caused Kenny to tumble backwards in horror, bringing Ham to the ground with him. The varsity team laughed even harder as Kenny and Ham clumsily tried to compose themselves.

"Leave the nigger alone, Ronnie," Dylan said with authority, causing all the other boys to pause. "We have a lady in our presence."

"A lady?" the boy named Ronnie raised a questioning eyebrow as he pulled his trousers back up and scanned Janie, who sat primly on a low tree branch with a lacquered lunch box on her lap. On a normal basis, Ham probably would have snorted at the comment. _"She's not a lady. She's just a man with boobs."_ But now wasn't the time to joke around.

"Aha! Lady my ass! She's a Chink!" Benny and the boys stood with blank expressions, clueless as to what he dubbed their friend. Janie, on the other hand, knew exactly what the term meant and dropped her chopsticks in shock and revulsion.

"Well if you want to get all prejudice here, I'm not a Chink. I'm a Nip. A _pleasure_ to make your acquaintance," she said calmly as she stood up straight and walked towards the boys. Benny suddenly sat up in alert.

"Don't look so proud, metal mouth" the tallest and leanest of the boys said as he stepped directly in front of her. "My grandpa fought you dirty Japs in the war before you surrendered. Cowards. Tell me, how'd it feel when we bombed your homes with our nukes?"

"I wouldn't know," Janie said calmly. "How did it feel dropping nuclear bombs in civilian territory and killing the lives of women and children? I should think that would make you feel just as cowardly."

Usually, Benny admired her for her tolerance towards people. Even the most insulting dirt-bag couldn't blow Janie's top. When it came to her family, however, she was anything but tolerable. She was being extremely defensive, and Benny knew it would not end well for her. He began to worry.

He was right to worry.

In a flash, the dark-haired boy struck his hand across Janie's face, causing her to collapse on the ground. He would have grinned in satisfaction at showing her a lesson…

…had Benny not suddenly sprung up from his sitting position to tackle him down.

Ham and Kenny ran to Janie and pulled her up before turning to watch Benny in stunned silence. Benny—the boy they had always known to be the most level-headed—was throwing repetitive punches, each blow rendering his victim helpless. They had never seen him act so violently before. They didn't know whether to root for Benny, or be afraid.

Feeling more of the latter, Janie broke away from Ham and Kenny's supportive arms and grabbed Benny's waist as she tried to pull him away.

"Benny, stop! Benny, you'll get in trouble!" Following her queue, Ham and Kenny ran towards Benny and helped Janie pull him off the boy, who lay with his eyes shut tight and blood running down his nose.

"Fuckers," the boy managed to spit out at his friends. "Why didn't you get this beaner off of me?" The varsity team looked at his poor state and snickered, except for Dylan, who only kept a serious face. He almost looked bored, if not exasperated.

"We don't draw blood over a girl, Tony" Dylan said coolly as he pushed himself away from his leaning position on the tree. Then he turned to look at Benny before walking away. "It's lame."

Benny stood motionless with Ham and Kenny still gripping his arms. It was as if they were afraid he'd lunge forward and attack again. Janie stood behind him, still clutching onto his waist. They watched as the boy named Tony stood up and glared at Benny before following the rest of the group.

When the varsity team had disappeared inside the cafeteria, Kenny and Ham let Benny go, their anger at the team returning.

"What a bunch of jerks," Ham muttered as Benny turned around and faced Janie.

"Are you alright?" He asked, not knowing how to comfort her. Janie only nodded her head, unable to face him eye to eye. Benny let out a breath and tipped her chin up, feeling anger boil over him again as he saw the red mark tarnishing her entire left cheek.

"I'm going to make him pay for this," Benny said through his teeth.

"I think you've already done enough damage to him. What happened to you, Benny?" He scrunched his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Ham and Kenny looked at Benny, eager for answers as well.

"You looked like you were intent on killing him," she whispered. Benny furrowed his eye brows, suddenly asking himself the same question. What _did_ happen to him? What was he thinking? It wasn't like him to act so violently.

"I wasn't going to kill him," he answered, a little unsure of how honest he was.

"Well if looks _could_ kill, you probably might have," Kenny finally spoke. Benny and Janie couldn't help but smile at the comment.

"I really ought to be chastising you, Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez," Janie announced less seriously. "But, considering the fact that nothing too bad happened to that jerk, I'm glad you pounded him to a pulp. Thanks."

Benny chuckled as he accepted Janie's warm hug. "Call it even. For rescuing me back in Biology class."

"Ah, yes. With my brains and your brawn, we're indomitable. _Mwa-ha-ha_!"

Benny had to shake his head at her theory. "Brains and brawn, huh? You know we have this yin-yang relationship?"

"I know," Janie said candidly as she wrapped her arms around Benny in thanks. "Which is why we make an excellent duo!"

As he stood under the shade of the tree with Janie safely in his arms, Benny began replaying the events that happened not too long ago. It surprised him how, at first, he didn't feel as if the varsity team would be worth his anger. Heck, he wanted to convince himself that the entire school's opinion of him didn't matter. But when that boy named Tony struck Janie, fury suddenly engulfed him and, for a while, it didn't feel as if he had control over his own body. The only objective he had in mind was to pulverize whoever had hurt her, and although he hadn't killed the guy, he had no doubt in his mind that he _could_ have done it.

It was a scary feeling, letting impulsivity take over him like that. He wondered if he would do have done the same thing had any of the other sandlot boys been in Janie's place. Was she that special to him? Shaking the thought of attraction in his mind, he figured that, if it came to his _best _friend, he would never tolerate that kind of treatment.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	6. Another Squints Story

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: July 28, 2009

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Another Squints Tale**  
"_My grandfather was police chief back then, and  
he told my dad, who told me, that a girl from the school  
disappeared, and her body was never found..."_

The first day of school had finally ended, and already Benny couldn't wait for the summer to arrive. Not only did the entire student bodyknow him as the idiot who got chased by a giant dog, but he also managed to collect a variety of new enemies. Something told him that keeping a low profile would be near impossible.

"So, this Mr. Mertle guy. What's he _really_ like?" Janie asked Benny as they exited school grounds with Ham and Kenny in tow.

"Mr. Mertle's harmless," Benny answered Janie's question. "And so is Hercules. You've got nothin' to worry about, Janie."

"I didn't say I was worried."

Benny gave her a playful smirk. "You didn't have to say anything. I know you've always been kind of a panty waist—"

"Have not!"

"Have too!" Benny mimicked her. "You used to be scared of everything!"

"Can you blame me? Squints' stories were shockingly convincing."

"Convincing? I think you were just gullible. Remember when you spent a whole summer rubbing yourself with garlic? And all 'cause someone told you that old Mad Phelps was a vampire? _Phew!_ You smelled so bad, people were convulsing around you."

Janie huffed in annoyance. "You're never going to let me live with that, are you? And if memory serves me right, YOU were the one who told me that rumor!"

Benny laughed again as Janie shoved him away from her side. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry about that, Janie. And don't worry about Mr. Mertle. He's totally harmless. And blind."

"Blind? You didn't tell me that!"

"Yeah, well, he was blinded by a stray ball that hit him when he was in the Negro Leagues. The guy spent twenty-seven years in the valley with no one but his line of dogs as company."

Janie nodded her head in understanding, suddenly sympathizing with the man she had feared since she was a small child. "I guess it's a good thing that he has you and the boys to talk to every week, right?"

"That's right," Benny said as he smiled and sloppily dropped an arm around Janie, pulling her closer to whisper in her ear. "Just be cool when you see him, okay? And besides, I'll be right here when you need me. By your side. Would I let something bad happen to you?"

Benny felt Janie shiver against his body, and he wondered if she felt cold.

"I trust you," she laughed a little too nervously. "With your brawn, right?"

Benny smiled in satisfaction at her response, and the two of them silently made their way towards James Mertle's home. When they arrived, they were greeted by the rest of the sandlot boys, who sat excitedly around a cluttered table.

It was strange not being in the same classes as all the other sandlot boys. Timmy, Bertram, Squints, and Yeah-Yeah were still in the 8th grade, and were probably enjoying their reign in the school now that Benny, Ham, and Kenny were gone. Smalls had skipped a grade, and so Tommy entered the 6th grade alone.

"Come join our circle, boys," Mr. Mertle said without turning his face away from the table. "We were just in the middle of talking about next week's first day of school when…" He stopped in mid-sentence and snapped his head towards the doorway, as if he were looking around, and then began to sniff. Even Hercules, that large mastiff that sat at his foot, lifted his nose in the air.

"Don't you kids have any manners?" Mr. Mertle said with a sly smile. "There's a lady in the room. Someone give her your seat."

Benny laughed under his breath as he watched the boys instantly spring up and clumsily offer Janie their seats—a gesture they definitely would not have cared to do had someone as admirable as Mr. Mertle not ordered them to.

"Mr. Mertle," Benny addressed the older man as he gently put his hands on Janie's shoulders. "This right here is—"

"Jane Reynolds, am I right?"

"You know me?" Janie asked curiously, although she was more curious about how he recognized her presence.

Mr. Mertle chuckled as he tried to face Janie. "I may not have been around a lady in a while, but I can still remember the fresh smell of powder and—" he sniffed the air in front of Janie. "Sweet pea?"

"Close," Janie said kindly. "It's freesia, sir." Mr. Mertle's face dropped at Janie's correction. He began to say something, but stopped and remained silent. At first, Benny thought Mr. Mertle was upset that he had made a mistake, but quickly shrugged it off as Mr. Mertle forced a smile and began chuckling.

"Well, you don't stink. That's the only scent I need in order to recognize the presence of a girl, especially with these smelly boys around." Benny laughed under his breath again as he watched a couple of the boys pull up their collars and sniff themselves. Mr. Mertle laughed too, as if he knew what was happening around him.

"As I was saying," he continued. "I've actually been wondering when Benny would bring you over. That boy talks about you more than he talks about baseball. Can't tell which one he loves more."

Benny turned red at Mr. Mertle's revealing piece of information, while some of the younger boys snickered under their breaths. He turned to Janie, who looked up at him with teasing eyes.

"I should hope he'd prioritize me more. After all, I was the one who introduced him to baseball."

Mr. Mertle chuckled again, but Benny had a gut feeling the man was feigning it, as if he were not enjoying himself. He thought hard, but couldn't seem to find a reason why Mr. Mertle would feel that way.

"So, ah, about school," Benny began as he tried to move the subject away from Janie. "High school sucks, yeah?"

"I'll bet," Squints whispered. "Did you hear about the ghost that haunts your baseball field?"

The boys groaned as Squints prepared to launch yet another tale about one of the town's mysteries.

"Squints, man," Yeah-yeah whined. "Not another one of your dumb stories. The last time we listened to you, we ended up wasting our time trying to get a baseball we could have easily asked Mr. Mertle to get for us."

Squints waved his arms in the air as he tried to quiet everyone down. "I'm serious about this one, you guys! Legend has it that the ghost of a teenage girl haunts the high school pitcher's mound. My grandfather was police chief back in the 20s. He told my dad, who told me, that a girl from the school was waiting for her fiance to show up. Rumor had it that they were supposed to run away that night and get married."

"Sounds bogus," Bertram snorted. But Squints shushed him and continued with his story.

"The girl's fiance showed up that night, but she was nowhere to be seen. Some say she just ran away by herself. Some say she was kidnapped. Either way, she disappeared, and her body was never found."

"Classic," Benny muttered. "Tragic love story turns sour as one of them disappears and never returns. It's typical."

"It's true." Squints said sternly. "If you don't believe me, go down the hill behind the baseball field. There's a monument dedicated to her. She really did disappear! Some people think she was kidnapped by hippies and sold to a freak circus where they mutilated her body and put her on display."

The boys cringed at the images that appeared in their minds as they thought of hippies taking captive a beautiful and innocent teenager. Benny and Janie, on the other hand, looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Hippies, or beatniks, were nearly nonexistent before the sixties. If anything, the story must have sprouted from Mrs. Palledorous' dislike towards the strange and freethinking social group.

"I'm telling you," Squints pushed further. "It's a true story. You know what my grandpa thought, though? He believed that the girl's fiance had something to do with her disappearance. Apparently, he was a pretty fishy character. He was—"

"HEY!" Mr. Mertle roared, causing Squints to immediately shut his mouth. "What kind of perverse game are you playing, boy?"

The room grew silent as shock became evident in the boys' faces.

"I'm—I'm not perverted," Squints said meekly. Benny would have laughed at the remark, had he not been so thrown off by Mr. Mertle's behavior. It wasn't like him to suddenly get angry.

"You need to stop making up such foolish stories, kid. Remember what happened the last time you started spouting nonsense? Sayin' I was some sort of grouch with a child-eating dog, didn't ya?"

Squints' eyes widened in embarrassment as he nodded his head slowly. "I—I gotta go," he said as he stood up from his seat and ran towards the back door.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotta go too."

"Me too, it's getting late. Let's go, Tommy."

Benny watched as all the boys filed out of the room, obviously afraid to stay any longer. The only ones that remained with him were Janie and Smalls—both of whom sat on the corner of their chairs, tilting away from Mr. Mertle.

Silence continued to fill the atmosphere as Benny looked at the older man. He looked as if his anger had subsided, but another emotion filled his face. He looked shaken, as if he had actually seen a ghost.

"Mr. Mertle," Benny said softly, afraid the man would suddenly throw another vicious comment. Instead, Mr. Mertle took a deep breath and stood up.

"I'm sorry for my outburst. Apologize to Squints and the rest of the boys for me, will you?"

Benny could only nod his head as Mr. Mertle pointed to the door.

"Now if you don't mind, I need some time for myself. Benny, son, you'll give your mom my regards, yes? And Ms. Reynolds, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope my behavior today hasn't frightened you into never visiting again." Janie only patted Mr. Mertle's shoulder, unsure of how to respond appropriately, and followed Benny and Smalls out the door.

"Is Mr. Mertle always so…moody?" Janie asked as she and Benny walked home.

"No," Benny said as he replayed the events that had taken place in Mr. Mertle's house. "I've never seen him snap like that."

"Maybe he's just having a bad day like you are," Janie contemplated. But Benny remained silent, taking time to think for himself.

"Hey Janie? What _are_ freesias?"

Janie shrugged. "They're flowers. I'm not sure what they look like, but they smell pretty good."

Benny paused in confusion. "I thought you liked lilies? And roses when you're sick. And daisies when you're sad."

Janie smiled as she linked her arm around Benny's. "It's amazing how well you know me."

"Please. I've only been your best friend since the first grade. What _don't_ I know about you?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	7. Charm Bracelet

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: July 29, 2009

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Charm Bracelet**  
"_The Jet?" Benny asked with uncertainty._  
"_Well, it was either that, or Benny the Homerun Daddy."_  
"_The Jet sounds awesome!" Benny said immediately._

_August 31, 1962  
Friday_

"Give me your hand," Janie told Benny as they sat in the corner of the library, supposedly studying for evil Dr. Dameron's anticipated pop quiz.

"Hey, I gave you that for your birthday!" Benny said as Janie wrapped her charm bracelet around his wrist. "Why are you giving it back to me?"

"For good luck, of course! Keep it with you, and wear it on the day of your baseball tryouts. Trust me, it'll give you good luck."

Benny smiled as he shook his wrists, letting the charms wiggle from the silver chains.

"Now give me your hand," Benny told Janie as he grasped her right hand and began drawing on it with a black marker. Janie observed him curiously, wondering what he was doing. When he pulled away, she found two black lines and a sloppily drawn diamond in the middle of her fourth finger.

"That would be fifty dollars for the ring, please," Benny said as he held up his hand.

Janie gave him an astonished look before grinning.

"Fifty? But I gave you my bracelet for free! No, here, let me draw you one." Janie took his right hand as well and began drawing a simple black band.

"It looks weird," Benny mumbled as he watched her work.

"Well, stay still! Okay, now you need a watch. What time is it? Ah, noon. Perfect!"

Benny laughed as she continued to mark the circumference of his arm; a tiny clock marked twelve o'clock laid on the anterior side of wrist.

"That will be a hundred-and-fifty dollars, please," Janie retorted as she held her hand up. Benny observed Janie's handiwork. For someone who was loved musical arts, she was no Picasso.

"I don't like it," Benny said.

"Well that's okay. You like sunglasses, don't you Benny? I'll make you some for free! For free, I tell you!"

Benny began to pull away as Janie lunged towards him. He laughed as he dodged her and began running down an aisle of bookshelves, nearly running into the librarian and her heavy stack of books.

"_Shhh! _No running in the library," the librarian whispered crossly as she strode down the aisle.

Benny and Janie only stifled their laughter between their hands as they continued walking. It was when they were out of ear shot, however, that they began laughing out loud.

"What time is it?" Janie asked as she tried to regain her composure. Benny glanced at the clock she drew on his arm and grinned.

"Noon. Perfect!"

Janie giggled as Benny sloppily dropped an arm around her and started leading her back to their spot.

"No, seriously. I'm, um…supposed to be meeting someone here." Benny scrunched his brows, noticing Janie's sudden discomfort. "He said he would stop by a little before three-thirty p.m."

"He?" Benny asked in surprise. "Anyone I know?"

"Ah, yeah, sorta," Janie began to giggle nervously. "I got stuck doing a project with him for home economics, remember?"

In that instant, Benny began to gag. "No," he whispered. "No. Not him! Not Phillips! Janie, couldn't you have given me some warning?"

"I—forgot?" Janie shrugged as Benny pulled his arm away from her and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I hate that guy."

"I know."

"He's a dick."

"I'm sorry."

"I hate his guts."

"Who doesn't?"

"Did you know he—"

"Okay! I get it! Sheesh, Benny! It's not like I'm marrying him!"

Benny couldn't help but snort out loud. He had gone from frowning accusingly at Janie to suddenly flashing her one of his laughing grins.

"I like it when you smile like that," Janie said softly. Whether she was attempting to change the subject or not, Benny didn't know, but he rolled his eyes nonetheless and replied to her compliment.

"Smile like what?"

"Like that," she simply responded. "You've got a crooked smile, you know? Not to sound weird, but it's cute. Girls like it."

Benny's smile widened as he tried to hide the embarrassment. He knew Janie was trying to make him feel better, and he knew it was working. It was just a damn shame that _he_ had to interrupt.

"Well if it isn't Rodriguez," Scott Phillips drawled.

In an instant, Benny's good mood had demolished, and he spun around to face his smirking enemy.

"Phillips," Benny nodded his head. "I just found out you were coming by."

"Yeah, I heard," Phillips said as he turned his attention towards Janie. "I'm surprised you didn't tell your little lover about our rendezvous, _Janie_. Was it meant to be a secret, my dear?"

Benny shot Phillips a rotten glare. The guy was obviously intent on ticking him off today. "I never thought I'd see you around our part of the neighborhood," Benny said casually. "Not since we last kicked your ass over the summer."

Phillip's disposition remained cool and relaxed, despite the insult. If there was one thing he and Benny had in common, it was their inherent ability to _appear_ calm.

"You forget, I go to your school now. And besides, I'm not here to start trouble. I'm here to see Reynolds."

Benny looked back at Janie, who shrugged in defeat.

"She must have set you up to your own death then, because the Ham and DeNunez are nearby just waiting to pounce on your sorry ass."

"Oh," Phillips said dramatically as he placed a hand over his heart. "The betrayal! And here I thought she actually wanted me!"

"Sorry, Phillips," Janie said unworriedly. "It wouldn't have worked out between us." Phillips feigned another hurt expression before he grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"But Janie, think of the baby!"

Benny's eyes snapped back at Janie, who covered her face with her hands and shook her head. He then looked back at Phillip's, ready to do more than just smack that smirk off his face.

"Relax, Rodriguez," Phillips said as he relished in Benny's annoyance. "I was talking about our baby for health class."

Phillips pulled out an egg from his pocket and held up for Benny to observe. It was white with a smudged, wicked face sloppily drawn on it.

"Oh, Phillips," Janie said gloomily. "What have you done to Antonia's face?"

"What have I done? I just gave you the prettiest baby egg in the world! She has your eyes, you see?" Phillips held the egg closer to Janie, a boyish grin spreading across his face. Janie, on the other hand, did not share his enthusiasm and cringed as she looked at the egg's face. It seemed as if it were looking in two different directions.

"And why are you carrying her in your pocket?" Janie cried. "I could slap you! Do realize the consequences if we break her? We'll be given another egg, and then we'll have to start all over! I do NOT want to extend this project with you as my partner, Phillips."

"Woman, relax! I'll carry her in my breast pocket, near and dear to my heart, okay? Don't slap me."

Janie crossed her arms and continued to glower at him. Benny wished she _had_ slapped him.

"Alright," Benny spoke up again. "Now that we're done with introductions, I think you should hand over the project and move on, Phillips."

"Yes sir," Phillips mocked a salute.

Benny then leaned down to whisper in Janie's ear, telling her that he'd be heading back first so she could have a word with Phillips.

Janie felt thankful for Benny's quick understanding and smiled after him as he walked away.

"You know," Phillips said before yawning. "If you keep looking at him like that, he might find out how you really feel."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please, woman. I can smell the hormones coming off of you. _I like it when you smile like that,_" Phillips began mock her in a high-pitched voice. _"Ooh, it's so crooked. It's so cuuute! Girls liiike it! _And if you ask me, he's not that shielded with his feelings, either."

"Excuse me?"

"Babe, the guy looked like he wanted to chew my head off when I mentioned a baby. I've never seen him get worked up about anything."

"He's been under stress," Janie defended.

"Well then can you imagine what he would've done if we really got it on? I'd like to experiment on that. Your place, or mine?"

"Ugh, both! You go to your place, I'll go to mine."

"Don't be a prude, Janie."

"Phillips, I wouldn't touch you if you were the last man on earth and it was up to us to repopulate the world!"

"Way to be original, but that's not the first time I've heard that."

"Well sometimes, clichés are better left the way they are. Especially when they're built on fundamental facts."

"Well he's another cliché you might like. Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy become best friends and fall in love."

Janie's guarded stance faltered a bit at his point made.

"Or," he continued. "Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy and girl despise each other. Then boy and girl fall in love. I think I like that one better!"

Just when she was beginning to tolerate him, he had to open his big mouth.

"I don't feel that way about Benny. We're friends. Best friends. He counts me as one of the guys."

"Keep telling yourself that, doll. I happen to think Rodriguez is a wuss for denying his real feelings." Janie snapped her head up, anger in her eyes.

"Benny Rodriguez is twice the man you'll ever be," Janie spat, feeling defensive for Benny.

And in her state of anger, she shoved Phillips, hearing a loud crack emit from his chest. At first, Janie feared she had broken something in his body. But when she saw wet, yellow goo drip through the fabric of his jacket, her hands flew to her mouth and she let out a squeak. She stared at Scott Phillips, who looked just as stunned as she was as he contemplated on what was worse: ruining his favorite jacket, or having to start the project all over.

"Reynolds, what the hell did I do to deserve this?"

"You tried to break my doll when we were four. And then you locked Benny in a trash bin. Remember?"

* * *

_September 5, 1962  
Wednesday_

"Rodriguez, Benjamin," Benny heard Coach Banks call out his name during after school tryouts. "You're up, son." Benny stepped out of the dugout and grabbed the bat from the pitcher's box, feeling probing eyes burn his back as he practiced his swing.

"So that's the guy?" Benny heard some of the boys in the dugout talking loudly.

"Yeah, he pickled the beast. Where have you been in the last month?"

"You think he's as good as they say?"

"Not likely. You know how rumors are."

"True. He doesn't even look like the kind of guy who could bust the guts out of a baseball."

It didn't matter to Benny if people didn't believe he could outrun a giant mastiff, but the fact that people doubted the only skill he truly valued made him a bit defensive for himself.

He scanned the field, finding Kenny and Ham in the outfield, cheering wildly in support. The gesture was enough to soothe some of the pressure he felt.

Then he glanced at the charm bracelet that dangled from his wrist. He smiled, remembering that Janie had let him borrow it for good luck, and then he laughed as he recalled the number of times he had worn it even before tryouts had begun. Benny could have sworn it really did give him good luck, since he wore it during a quiz in Biology, actually managed to pass with a C instead of his usual F. He suddenly felt comforted, not because of the "luck" he was bestowed with, but the fact that he had his best friend's full support. With a new found confidence, Benny straightened his posture and turned his attention to the pitcher.

Standing on the pitcher's mound, with his light ash brown hair and crooked smirk, was Scott Phillips. At five foot six, he was just as tall and slim as Benny.

_Bring it on, you pig-headed snot. _Benny thought as he focused his eyes on Phillip and positioned himself into his ready stance.

He had never missed a ball before, and he wasn't going to start now, especially when Phillips was the one pitching it to him. The guy wasn't an amazing batter, but he definitely knew how to throw a good knuckle ball.

Thankfully, and surprisingly, Phillips only threw him a straight, which Benny hit with amazing force.

Not even bothering to watch how far the ball went, Benny sped past the plates, hearing the small crowd cheer in amazement. He wouldn't have to run back and forth between third and home bases anymore, as his ball gave him and his team mates a home run.

"Good job, kid!" Coach Banks said as he approached Benny and patted him on the back. He then bent down so that his face met Benny's and whispered, "Rest assured, son, you definitely have a spot waiting for you on the team." He winked, making Benny feel proud of his simple accomplishment. "Go ahead and run home. Your tryouts are done."

Benny watched the rest of the tryouts even after Mr. Banks let him go home. He wanted to assure himself that Ham and Kenny would be able to join him on the team and, so far, the possibility looked promising. Ham and Kenny were easily the best players at the tryouts—next to Scott Phillips, that is.

Halfway through the tryouts, Janie joined Benny on the bleachers, intent on unleashing the stress of being on the newspaper staff.

"I _cannot_ believe how unfair Donna Pekarovski is." Janie fumed quietly as she paced in front of Benny. "How can she assign Third Reporter to Lisa? Her own sister! She's just a freshman, for crying out loud! And not to sound like a complete baby, but I _am_ in Advanced English. Doesn't that give me some kind of—I don't know—precedence over Lisa Pekarovski?"

"What ever happened to being a good sport?" Benny teased as Janie plumped miserably on the seat next to him.

"I'm not trying to be rotten," she grumbled with a slight pout. "I just feel cheated for being assigned petty, mediocre columns on cafeteria coleslaw while Lisa reaps the benefit of having an older sister for editor-in-chief. And don't you try to defend Donna just because you've had a gigantic crush on her since the 6th grade."

Benny couldn't help but snicker at his best friend's whiny behavior. "Be thankful you don't have to try out to be on newspaper staff."

"Oh please," Janie snorted. "Tryouts would have been a lot fairer, in my opinion." She sighed in defeat. "I guess I'll just have to suck it up for a few years, which is a real shame. I was looking forward to writing my first official article on you."

"Me?"

"Yes," she nodded zealously. "I was going to title it, 'Benny _The Jet_ Rodriguez: San Fernando High's Newest Star.'"

"The Jet?" Benny asked with uncertainty. "It's a little cheesy, don't you think?"

"Well, it was either that, or _Benny the Homerun Daddy_."

"The Jet sounds awesome!" Benny said immediately.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I have to give credit to the Korean show "Full House," for inspiring me to write out the fake jewelry scene from episode-something. You should all watch it with sub-titles. It's kind of cute.

Other than that, I guess I like this chapter because of Scott Phillips. I know that in the movie, we only see him as a jerk, and other fanfics portray him as a perverted sexual harasser, but as an individual character, we know almost nothing about him. With that in mind, I decided that Phillips was one of those characters I'd be free to develop into anything I wanted, and in the end, I decided to make him more…likeable.

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	8. Point Mugu Trial

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: August 02, 2009

**Author's Note: **Hands down, this is my most **favorite** chapter to write.

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Point Mugu Trial**  
"_Benny felt his body go limp from the exhaustion of standing.  
It was safe to say that the ropes kept him strapped to the post,  
and that his body's impulse to go limp would not hurt him—too much."_

_September 10, 1962  
Monday_

The bell rang at exactly three o'clock p.m. Benny popped out of his chair in Spanish and ran towards the office, picking up Ham and Kenny on the way.

"You have to push it," Kenny told Benny impatiently when he wouldn't stop tugging on the handle of the office door.

"Thanks for telling me man," Benny retorted sarcastically. "Cause, you know, yanking the door upwards was next option."

The three of them filed into the cool office, thankful that none of the other boys who had tried out for the team were there yet.

"Excuse me, miss," Benny asked the plump woman behind the front desk. "Where are the results of the baseball tryouts being posted?" The old woman pointed to the empty table in the corner of the room. A white sheet of paper sat on top of it.

In a flash, Benny, Ham, and Kenny ran to the table and grabbed the sheet of paper, eager to see if they had made the team or not.

"Yes!" Ham yelled in relief. "I made the team! Did you hear me, lady?" He asked the woman at the front desk. "The Great Hambino made the junior varsity baseball team!"

"Uh-huh," the woman nodded at Ham with a monotone voice. "Congratulations, sonny."

"I made the team, too!" Kenny exclaimed as he and Ham joined hands and began jumping up and down. They were unaware of their slip of manliness as they started their own group hug complete with squealing and—yes—giggling.

Benny scanned the sheet over and over. Although he was sure he had made the team, he still felt nervous. He even wore Elaine's lucky charm bracelet, hoping it would bring him luck again. Despite the precaution he took, he felt incredulity engulf him as he realized his name was not on the list.

"You guys," Benny whispered, causing Ham and Kenny to become aware of their lapse of masculinity. "I didn't make the team."

Ham and Kenny stood in disbelief as Benny held the sheet of paper in front of their faces. True to his words, Benny was not on the list.

"You didn't make the team?" Ham managed to speak in astonishment. "But, you nailed the tryouts. You're the best out of the three of us!"

"Yeah! You busted the guts out of a baseball! How could they NOT put you on the team?" Kenny and Ham grabbed the sheet from Benny and closely read every name.

Benny stood in silence as he tried to recall what he had done wrong. So far, he couldn't think of anything that could have kept him from making the team. He had turned in his health examinations, and his grades had been fairly decent, if not better than usual. He even had Coach Banks' reassurance that he would be making the team. And not to seem arrogant, but Benny knew that if Ham and Kenny could get into the team, so could he. Even Scott Phillips' name was on the list, and it was no secret that the sandlot boys could play better baseball that he could.

"What's this?" a mocking voice interrupted Benny's train of thoughts. "Benny Rodriguez isn't on the list for the baseball team?" Benny turned around and came face to face with Dylan Royce and his usual group of followers.

"I guess all those stories about him busting the guts out of a baseball was just another lame rumor," the thin blonde named Ronnie pointed out, intent on pushing Benny's buttons.

"Hah! I don't know why anyone would be dumb enough to believe that story," Tony spat, still holding his grudge on Benny for beating him up on the first day of school. "This guy is obviously a fake."

"Say whatever you want, pea-brains," Ham began his verbal assault. "We were there, and we saw Benny outrun Hercules."

"Yeah," Kenny agreed. "We don't need your opinions. Besides, there's gotta be a mistake on this sheet!"

"I'm afraid not," Mr. Banks said as he entered the office. He looked at Benny with a secretive smile on his face.

"You didn't make the junior varsity baseball team, son." Benny remained composed on the outside, but on the inside, he was shaking in disappointment. Behind Mr. Banks, the varsity team looked at him with disdain, a sneer spreading across Tony's face. He was obviously ecstatic about proving Benny's reputation as a hoax.

"You didn't make the team," Mr. Banks said loudly for Dylan, Ronnie, and Tony to hear, "because you made varsity. Congratulations, son." He handed Benny another sheet of paper with the varsity baseball team logo printed on the top. Benny scanned the list, and in the row above Dylan Royce's name was his own: Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, batting order #1.

"Batting order number one? That's the leadoff hitter!" Ham cried in amazement at his friend's good luck.

"Yep," Mr. Banks nodded. "Benny's job as the fastest base runner is to advance around the bases as fast as possible. I was tempted to recommend him for third, but I figured the seniors wouldn't have appreciated it if the title of "best slugger" went to a freshman. Besides, I think leadoff hitter is a very fitting position, don't you think?" Ham and Kenny nodded in agreement, feeling very triumphant at the scowling faces of Tony and Ronnie.

"Well," Dylan Royce interrupted as he stood next to Mr. Banks. "I'm thankful he didn't take my spot as third batter then. And as captain of the varsity team," he continued, looking at Benny with a serious face, "I'd like to extend an invitation to a little get together we're having today. It's a tradition the varsity team has whenever a new member joins."

Mr. Banks patted Dylan's back in approval. "That's the spirit. I'm glad you boys have matured so much since you left my JV team."

"Wait," Benny said before Dylan could continue with his false pretense of friendliness. "You're not coaching the JV team?" Mr. Banks shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Rodriguez. The honors go to Dr. Teague. Well, I'll be on my way now, gentlemen," Mr. Banks announced as he began walking towards the office doors. "I'm expecting great things from you, Mr. Rodriguez." And then he left, leaving Benny, Ham, and Kenny to deal with the varsity boys.

"I'm guessing you're taking that invitation back from me, huh?" Benny asked, suddenly aware of the fact that he would be seeing Dylan and his cronies more often.

"Oh no," Dylan drawled with a devilish smile on his face. "You're one of us now, kid. You have an induction ceremony to attend."

"A what?"

"Let's just say, if you want to get along with the team, you'll have to pass a test first." Benny looked at Ham and Kenny hesitantly, feeling as if he were being sentenced to a sacrifice rather than a so-called induction ceremony. "It's either you join us, or we make the rest of your high school year a living nightmare, kid. What will it be? You in, or you out?"

Benny contemplated the options he had. If he refused to go with the team—wherever the heck they were going—he had no doubt they would make his varsity team days a living hell. But if he went...well, what exactly was he going to lose. It wasn't like they were going to throw him off a cliff, or anything remotely dangerous. Were they? But then again, he had beaten Tony to a pulp. Was this just a trick to get back at him?

Benny gulped nervously as the seconds ticked.

"I'll go," he said finally, relieved that he had made a decision, but anxious as to whether he would survive to see another day or not.

"That's a good boy," Dylan said, a hint of malice seeping from his tone. "Come with us." And with that, Benny found himself being pushed out the door and towards the school parking lot. He felt the itch to fight them back and change his mind, but it seemed a little too late for that when he found himself in the back seat of a ford truck with Dylan and Ronnie in the front seats. Tony had run off with Dylan's brief instruction to "get everyone else."

The ignition suddenly ignited, causing the truck to release a deafening roar, and the three of them left the school campus with Benny unaware of their destination.

* * *

After sitting through an hour drive in which Dylan and Ronnie ignored Benny, they stopped near a field consisting of tall stocks of wheat and grass. They all stepped out of the shiny brown truck and stretched, feeling the breeze of the day's end cool their bodies. Benny relaxed a bit as he stared out into the open space ahead of them. And then he wondered why they brought him here. This did not seem like the type of place a group of teenage boys would go to for a "little gathering."

"Hey, Dylan," Benny suddenly found the confidence to speak. "Where are we?"

"Point Mugu," Dylan said casually as he sat on the hood of his truck. "It's an unincorporated area 65 miles outside Los Angeles." Benny nodded, but felt a little nervous at the mention of an "unincorporated area." What the heck did that mean?

"Well, what are we gonna do here?" he dared to ask another question. Dylan turned his attention to Benny, his usual sneer returning to mar his striking face.

"Just wait. You'll find out."

A couple of minutes later, a similar red truck approached them, followed by a black Chevy. The boys in the vehicles parked behind Dylan's truck and stepped out before walking as a small group of eight towards Ronnie.

"Ey, Evans," one of the boys greeted Ronnie with a high five. "I heard we got ourselves new meat. Where is the little punk?" Benny gulped as the boy scanned the area and laid his eyes on him. The guy was a giant! He was easily the tallest and brawniest, if not the most distinctive with his blonde buzz cut and teasing blue eyes.

"Is that him? He don't look all that tough!" The other boys in the group, who were almost just as tall, nodded in agreement.

"You might be surprised, Zee" Dylan announced as he approached the group. "This kid here beat the crap out of Tony last month." The large boy named Zee made an "O" with his mouth before breaking into fits of laughter.

"You mean to tell me this short Mexican was the 'gigantic bouncer' you fought at a club? He doesn't look like he's even old enough to drink!"

"Shut it, Zee," Tony flushed as he attempted to shove the large boy, who only continued to laugh at his team mate's lame story.

"Well then, this freshman must be something if he managed to make varsity _and_ take Tony down."

"He is," Dylan said with slight annoyance. "He's the Rodriguez kid everyone's talking about." The seven boys who had not met Benny yet looked at him, inwardly criticizing the way he looked.

"So this is the guy my kid sister won't stop yapping about," one of the boys mused as he shoved a strand of long blonde hair from his eyes. "I can't wait to break him like a rag doll."

"Don't worry, Danny. We'll get a shot at him in a moment." Dylan's words struck Benny, who suddenly began to panic as the boys looked at him, cracking their knuckles and pretending to shoot him with imaginary guns.

"Danny, you brought the rope, yeah?"

"I got it right here, Dyl."

"Webber, you ready for your speech?"

"I'll wing it."

Dylan smiled pleased at his team mate's attentiveness. Benny, on the other hand, began walking back, prepared to run if he had to.

"Alright," Dylan yelled. "Go get him, boys!"

At the sound of those four words, Benny found himself instantly sprinting to life. He ran away from the group, disappearing into the expansive field of tall wheat and grass. He ran straight forward, unsure of where he was leading himself into as the field seemed to run for miles on end.

Benny could hear the yells and screams of the boys behind him disappearing as he picked up his legs and sped up his pace. It was when he reached an empty road leading towards the farm that he changed his course and began running towards the farmhouse.

As he ran down the road, he heard the sound of an engine rumble behind him and turned around. Fear engulfed him when he saw Dylan's brown truck come racing towards him, and he knew he couldn't outrun it. He changed directions again and went back into the field, convinced Dylan wouldn't dare drive his vehicle through someone's property.

He was right. Dylan had stopped his car, making Benny feel relieved. But his relief was only temporary as a smashing force sent him slamming onto the ground.

"Good job, Zee!" Dylan called out from his truck. "Pull the kid over here!"

Unable to exert anymore energy, Benny remained limp as Zee picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

"I can see why you made the varsity team, kid. You're fast!"

"Thanks," Benny mumbled in defeat. "But obviously not fast enough."

Zee chuckled lightheartedly as he dropped Benny into the back of Dylan's truck, which instantly sped off towards another end of the field, away from the farm.

"Don't worry, kid. We're almost there," Zee said in a loud, excited voice. "We all had to do something like this at one point." Benny mumbled something nonchalantly, feeling his head ache from the effects of Zee's earlier tackle. The guy should have been on the football team instead.

As the car stopped a couple of minutes later, Zee picked Benny up again and carried him through the field. It was a long walk, making Benny wonder how far he really ran.

"You can drop him there," Benny heard one of the boys say. "I'll take it from here."

Zee slowly put Benny down, who stumbled a little bit as he tried to regain his composure. He looked around, found himself cornered by all ten boys, and tried to step away before running into something hard. He looked behind him and noticed a tall, wooden post rising from the soil beneath him. It reminded him of a crucifix, except it had two horizontal slabs of wood pinned to it instead of one.

"Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez," the boy named Webber said in a professional tone. "During the process of this transition, you will be caused to respectfully accept your challenge and face hardship. As pointless as it seems, there is a time-honored reason behind the task, which will assure us that you will wear the Varsity Team jacket with the same pride as those before you. It is our goal to instill in you that trust is inherent with the donning of the title Varsity Team member. It is our intent to impress upon you that challenge is good—a great and necessary reality which cannot mar you—which in fact, strengthens you. It will be our intention to test you, to try you, and to accept you."

Benny looked at Webber in mixed confusion. Although the aura surrounding the words seemed prominent, it did nothing to quench the feeling of sacrifice and condemnation.

"Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez," Webber said again in the same, authoritative tone. "Do you accept your challenge?"

Benny remained silent, completely hesitant of what to say.

"If you want, you can always take option B," Ronnie said. "You can stimulate in oral sex with a cucumber!"

Benny winced at Ronnie's perverted humor and refused to respond. Did he really have a choice to begin with?

"You understand that this is totally voluntary, and that we can't be blamed if anything happens to you?"

"_Voluntary my ass,"_Benny thought. Nonetheless, he replied with a simple "yes," triggering a collection of cheers and hoots as the rest of the boys circled in on him. They then unbuttoned his shirt, leaving him to wonder what in the world they were going to do to him shirtless.

Benny flinched a little as Zee picked him up again. This time, he placed him on top of the wooden post so that he stood on the bottom slab. Two other boys then climbed up with ropes in their hands, and before Benny could register what was happening, he found himself tied to the wooden post, feeling very much like Jesus on the crucifix.

"Trust is inherent with the donning of the title Varsity Team member," Webber repeated. "We trust that you will not speak a word about this event to anyone." Benny stared at him before turning his attention to Dylan. Webber took his silence as an agreement, and began walking away with the other boys.

"If you don't get out of this by nightfall, don't worry. Zee will be back here to cut you down—assuming that he doesn't forget, I mean." Dylan chuckled before jumping off the post. Benny couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I'll see you tomorrow at practice then, Rodriguez." And with that, Dylan Royce disappeared into the field of wheat, leaving Benny to wonder what in the world he had gotten himself into.

He turned to look at his arms, which had been tied to the slab at his wrists and elbows. He then tried to look down at his legs, and although he couldn't see them, he knew the ropes tied his ankles to the post where he stood. It was useless to try and get out of this, he thought as tried to break free.

Benny sighed and looked out at the open field before him. The sun looked as if it was ready to dip below the horizon, causing the sky to turn into hues of yellow, blue, and purple. It was a beautiful comparison to the golden glow the sun gave the wheat field.

Benny almost had to laugh at the juxtaposition of the situation. Here he was brutally tied against a wooden post in the middle of an enchanting field, and he barely said anything to stop it.

But if it meant gaining the varsity team's approval—and getting them off his back—he would tolerate the hours that he would spend fixed to this scarecrow post (at least, that's what Benny deducted it must have been). The weather was fairly warm at night. It wouldn't kill him.

Or so he thought when three hours had slowly passed by. It must have been seven o'clock at night when Benny felt his body go limp from the exhaustion of standing. He winced as he tried to move his arms, which felt like lead as the ropes dug into his flesh. It was safe to say that the ropes kept him strapped to the post, and that his body's impulse to go limp would not hurt him—too much.

The minutes that ticked by seemed like hours to Benny, whose body grew more tired by the second. He even began to smell strange things. At one point, he could have sworn he smelled tangerines. Maybe even melons. It was a sweet smell, but Benny shrugged his association with fresh food as hunger.

Just when it seemed like he was ready to fall asleep, a shuffle from the distance caught his attention.

It must have been Zee coming to tie him down, Benny thought in relief. But when he saw a tall, slimmer figure that couldn't have possibly belonged to Zee, Benny panicked. Whoever the person was, Benny couldn't possibly explain who had put him there. If he wanted to keep the varsity team pleased and off his back for the rest of the school year, he had to keep their initiation ceremony a secret, just as he had silently promised Webber.

Suddenly, Benny found bright light being aimed towards his face. His eyes, which had adjusted to the dark, immediately shut close.

"Benny?" That voice. It was so familiar to him. "What—how did you get up there? How did you get _here_ in this city?"

"Mr. Reynolds," Benny croaked as he squinted his eyes. "How'd you find me?"

"We'll talk later," Mr. Reynolds said gravely as he reached behind his pocket and pulled out an army knife. He ran behind Benny and first released his ankles before climbing up to free his arms.

"You think you can stand and keep yourself from falling if I let your waist go?" Benny nodded as he held onto the post with his free hands. He felt the rope around his torso loosen before he jumped down and staggered to the floor. Then he heard Mr. Reynolds curse silently.

"What's wrong, Mr. Reynolds?"

"I dropped my army knife. No use looking for it now," he said before draping his dark green jacket over Benny. "C'mon. I'll take you home, and we'll talk on the way."

"How far away are we from the valley?" Benny asked tiredly, trying to think of a false story to feed Mr. Reynolds.

"Quite far, Benny. We're already in the Ventura County."

Mr. Reynolds led Benny to the road where his black, 1960 Pontiac Catalina waited. They entered the vehicle and drove down the road, away from the farm. Benny hoped that if he faked sleep, which he probably wouldn't have to fake considering how exhausted he was, Mr. Reynolds wouldn't question him about his day.

His hopes died, however, when Mr. Reynolds suddenly spoke, and Benny couldn't fight the impulsivity to be respectful.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Reynolds asked Benny, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'm fine. Really fine," Benny said, hoping Mr. Reynolds wouldn't worry.

"What happened to you? How did you end up here in Point Mugu?" Benny contemplated his answer, feeling guilty for lying to one of his father figures.

"I went out with a couple of guys from the baseball team. I made varsity."

"Congratulation," Mr. Reynolds said, concern still in his mind. "Then what happened?"

"They took me to a restaurant at the northwestern district of the valley," Benny replied, trying to produce as many details as believable. "Afterwards, we decided to call it a day, and I insisted on walking home. I didn't want to be a burden to them or anything."

"Alright. Now I know why you and Elaine didn't walk home from school together. Tell me how you ended up tied to a piece of wood in the middle of a field."

"I…um…was attacked."

"Attacked? By who?"

"A gang," Benny mumbled, hoping Mr. Reynolds would buy the story. "They tried to take my money. But when they found my identification card and realized who I was, I guess they decided to pick on me."

"So, they shoved you in the backseat of some car, drove you an hour away from the valley, just to hang you in a deserted area because they've heard of you?" Benny couldn't help but worry at the sudden hint of disbelief in Mr. Reynolds' tone.

"Yeah. That's how it went," he said, rubbing the sore spots where the ropes dug into his skin.

Mr. Reynolds sighed and relaxed his shoulders, remaining quiet for the time being. Benny hoped he bought the story, yet feeling extremely guilty. Lying to Elaine's parents was practically a sin in her book. He only hoped the truth wouldn't reveal itself.

"I'm disappointed in you, Benny," Mr. Reynolds suddenly spoke out. "I'll have you know that I'm more than aware about the baseball team's various initiation rituals." When it seemed like Benny was not going to respond, Mr. Reynolds continued.

"You haven't even asked me how I found you. Would you like to know?" Benny turned his attention to Mr. Reynolds, who went on with his explanation. "I was in Point Mugu's Naval Air Station finishing some missile tests when Elaine called from home. She said you left the school with a bunch of older boys, and that she suspected they were taking you to Point Mugu. When I asked her who you left with, and she told me you were with the varsity members of the school's baseball team, I knew exactly where to find you. I was a graduate from San Fernando High, Benny. And I as on the baseball team, as well. I'm _very_ familiar with high school initiation rites and transitions."

Benny felt his face flush with guilt and shame for being caught. He prepared himself to apologize to Mr. Reynolds, but the man continued to talk before Benny could squeeze out a word.

"I don't know what it is that you're trying to protect by covering the varsity team's name. Knowing you, though, I'm guessing it's something really significant. Otherwise, you would not have lied to me."

Benny kept quiet, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Coach Banks and Coach Teague would probably want to know if hazing was happening under their noses, and I'd _at least_ like for you to tell your mother and father about the situation. Let them decide what's right."

If Coach Banks and Coach Teague found out what was going on behind their backs, Benny had no doubt that he would make life long enemies with the members of the team. He also had to take into consideration what would happen to Ham, Kenny, and Elaine. Ratting out the varsity team would only bring the three of them more abuse.

"But I made an oath not to tell anyone," Benny finally spoke. "They said that trust is inherent with the donning of the title Varsity Team member, and that they trusted me not to tell anyone about the ritual. Besides, it's not like they forced me into it. I agreed to take on the challenge."

"Did you just say _donning of the title_?" Benny nodded his head, causing Mr. Reynolds to sigh in exasperation. "The goal was to instill in you that trust is inherent with the donning of the rank Chief Petty Officer. It was our intent to impress upon you that challenge is good; a great and necessary reality which cannot mar you—which, in fact, strengthens you."

"That's—"

"Part of the Navy's Chief Petty Officer creed," Mr. Reynolds chuckled. "It's something I had to memorize when I was in the Navy. Jesus, I can't believe high school kids would reduce it for the purpose of hazing other students."

Benny remained silent as he tried to formulate a plan. He'd take Mr. Reynolds words to heart and tell his parents about what happened. But he would have to try and convince them not to let it get past the house.

"I won't tell your parents what happened, Benny, because I know you're smart enough to tell them yourself. Just do me a good favor. When you find some control over the team, whether it be this year or in your senior year, stop the abuse, alright? End the trend."

Benny smiled at Mr. Reynolds, thankful for not only saving him, but for his words and his discretion. He would do the man more than just his favor. He would never lie to him again.

"Will do, Mr. Reynolds. Will do."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I've done my research, and Point Mugu really is a town in southern California. _I know…anal, aren't I?_ I even calculated the driving distance from San Fernando Valley on Map Quest (haha), and was lucky enough to discover that a Naval Station was established in Point Mugu. They used to do missile testing there, I think, and so I thought it would be relevant for Mr. Reynolds, a former U.S. pilot and current Intel analyst for the Navy, to be at the scene. Pretty convenient, eh?

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	9. Running Away From Home

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: January 23, 2011

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Running Away From Home**  
"_He prayed that the darkness would be enough to camouflage the two of them.  
He prayed that the Lord would grant them temporary invisibility.  
He prayed, and he prayed fervently."_

Mr. Reynolds brought Benny safely back home from Point Mugu, and before Benny could even explain the events of the day, much less step into the house, Rafe Rodriguez had already begun his verbal abuse.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Benjamin? Do you have _any_ idea how worried your mother was?"

Benny dared to glance at his mother, who sat in the dimly-lit background with a confused expression on her face. _He was worried_, she mouthed silently as she pointed towards her husband. _Not me._

Benny laughed at his mother's lack of seriousness, but immediately sobered up as his father stood over him, covering his mother's view.

"It's past eight o'clock."

"I was with a responsible adult," Benny nervously defended himself.

"Well that doesn't matter, Benjamin. We owe Mr. Reynolds too much and, quite frankly, I'm a bit embarrassed that we're always in need of his assistance. Now tell me. Where were you after school?"

Benny gulped apprehensively as he tried to keep eye contact with his father. Pitifully, though, the best he could do was to stare at his PF Flyers, which had been dirtied heavily during his attempted escape from Point Mugu.

"I was with the varsity team," Benny hesitantly began. It was his responsibility, after all, to tell his parents the truth, and to report the incident to the school. It was the right thing to do.

_Easier said than done, _Benny thought.

Benny knew that if he rat out the varsity team, they would find a way to get back at him. Dylan Royce was not the type to back down with dignity.

"And I got into the team. They decided to take me out for a—an induction ceremony."

"An induction ceremony?" Gabriella Rodriguez gasped as she snapped up from her chair and approached her son. "You were beaten, weren't you?"

"I didn't say that, mom!" Benny exclaimed. "I didn't—well, I mean…I…I just. I wasn't beaten!"

"Oh, Benny, why would they do such a thing?" Mrs. Rodriguez took Benny's chin in her hand and began examining his face. "What did they do to you? Are you hurt?"

"No, mom. They didn't do anything bad. They just…kind of strapped me on a scarecrow post for a few hours. It was nothing."

Benny had to smack himself in the head. _Yeah, they just tied me to a post for a few hours. I could have frozen to death, but whatever. _There was just no way of making that situation sound normal.

"How stupid can they be?" Mr. Rodriguez scoffed in anger as he strode to the corner of the living room and reached for the telephone. "I'm going to report this incident to Roger McClennan. Maybe a few nights in prison will slap some sense into those boys."

At that instant, and before he could even think, Benny frantically popped out of his seat and raced to grab his father's arm. "Wait, dad! Don't call Chief McClennan!"

Mr. Rodriguez looked at his son in surprise. "Benjamin, I will not have my son be associated with hazing trials and immature know-it-all boys who can't control their behavior."

"But I agreed to it, Dad. It's not as if they forced me to do it. I could have said 'no' if I wanted." _At the risk of being bullied for the rest of my freshman life. _

Mr. Rodriguez looked at his son seriously as he began to think. "You know what, you're right. Those boys don't deserve a lot of blame. You obviously had the right to turn them down. Why didn't you?"

Benny was stumped. There was no way around it. He knew his father was going to have the last word on this one. He always did. "I—I don't know, sir."

Rafe Rodriguez nodded his head. "I am more convinced now than ever that moving you to Riverside would be the best decision. Loma Linda Academy is a wonderful institution that would never allow this kind of behavior to ensue under their noses."

Benny scoffed out of impulse. "Whatever. You talk about moving us there all the time, but we never do."

"Well it's for sure this time, Benjamin," Rafe responded more crossly. It was enough having his wife point out his tentative plans. He didn't need his son to be following suit. "I've already spoken to director of my firm, as well as the dean of the academy. You can expect us to leave the valley by Christmas."

Benny felt his knees buckle as the reality of his situation sank in. "No," he whispered more to himself that to his father. "No _fucking_ way!"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to that stupid school!" Benny yelled at his father. "You can't turn me into Adam, dad! Jesus, you're just like grandpa!"

That did it.

Rafe's jaw hardened as he stood rooted to his spot, obviously attempting to keep his cool. But to what extent?

"Don't kid yourself," Rafe said coldly. "You will never be as successful as Adam. Not now, not with your silly baseball dreams." It was salt on an opened wound. "So just grow up, Benjamin. Grow out of this ridiculous phase of yours."

And with that said, Rafe Rodriguez turned a cold shoulder at his family and retreated to his den, unaware of just how much he had hurt his son.

_They're just words._Benny told himself. But they hurt to the core, and he resisted the urge to actually cry.

"Oh, m'hijo," Gabriella whispered as she stood next to Benny and wrapped him in a warm embrace—an embrace he couldn't bring himself to return. "Please don't take to heart what your father said. I wasn't joking when I said he was the one worried about you, and he really was worried. He didn't mean any of the things he said."

Benny gently shrugged off his mother's arm, disbelieving every single word she had said. It was hard to believe that his father cared at all.

"Whatever mom. I'm outta here." _Seriously out of here_. Benny thought as he marched up to his room, slammed the door shut, and angrily stormed into his closet.

_He wants me to conform to his ideals? Quit baseball and go to prep school? Hell no! Not if I can help it! _Benny fumed as he grabbed a duffel bag and began stuffing it with clothes. He was so caught up in his anger—so intensely concentrated—that he didn't realize anyone had been watching him.

"What are you doing?"

Benny snapped his head around and found Janie stepping into his room. She had obviously entered from the balcony, and was no crossing the room to stand over him.

"I'm packing," he said, although it was more of a question than an answer. Not too long ago, he was hell bent on leaving; anything that would fight his father's influence to move. But at the sight of Janie, he knew leaving would be harder than he thought. "I—I think I'm running away from home."

"Running away from home?" Janie sighed as she took as seat at the entrance of his closet. "Benny, what happened?"

"It's a long story."

"We have all night."

"But I'm leaving tonight."

"You sound a little unsure, Benny. And as your best friend, I won't allow you to make hasty decisions."

Benny chuckled as he continued to pack. "What are you gonna do? Knock me out and tie me down on the bed?"

"In your wet dreams, buddy," Janie joked. "But seriously. Why are you trying to run away from home?"

Benny paused for a moment. Was there an easier way to say it? That they were going to be separated again for an indefinite period of time?

No. There was no shortcut around it. She had to know in order for her to understand.

"We're moving," Benny told Janie as he zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He winced as he felt the weight press against the soreness of his back. "We're leaving by the end of the year. It's official."

Janie sat frozen on the floor as the words registered in her head. Benny walked past her, feeling slightly guilty for delivering the bad news in such a blunt manner. But he had to go. The sting from his father's words still burned, and he needed to walk it off.

"I have to go now, Janie. But don't worry. I'll come back to see you."

"Why?"

"You don't want me to come back for you?"

"That's not what I meant. Just…tell me _why_ you're running away from home. I don't see how that'll solve anything."

"Easy," Benny smiled. "If I'm not around by the time my dad wants to move, we _can't_ move. At least, not until he comes across another promotion."

"So, you're basically hiding out for three and a half months? Where are you gonna go?"

"Can't tell you that," Benny said as he stepped onto the balcony and grabbed the nearby tree. "You'll be the first person my mom and dad will be questioning when they realize I'm gone. I can't let you lie for me. Besides. You're kind of a bad liar."

Then, without waiting for her expected retaliation, Benny climbed over his rails and down the tree, unsure of when he'd be coming back home.

* * *

There weren't many stars that shone brightly over the deserts of Southern California—not with the glam of city lights illuminating the entire Los Angeles County. It was a bare, moonless night, but it was welcoming to Benny, nonetheless. The sky, although empty of the sun that had earlier brightened its day, still retained a faintly orange hue, and the air, although slightly humid and warm, was made tolerable by the cool breeze that occasionally swept through the highway.

Benny had to admit that the atmosphere did well for his mood. It was as if the night had taken the initiative to console him itself. When he had first left the neighborhood, he was full of hurt and anger. Never once had his father spoken to him so callously. _At least he was passionate about it_, Benny snorted.

Now, however, as he was walking out of San Fernando Valley and past a barren desert near I-120, he was suddenly sick of being miserable. Even the thought of_ temporarily_ leaving behind his home and everyone he loved was emotionally exhausting, and he knew he had to find a way to cope with it if he ever wanted to sabotage his family's chances of leaving the valley for good.

But first things first. He had to deal with Janie.

"Janie, if you're gonna follow me all night, at least walk next to me so we can talk," Benny yelled over his shoulder with an amused smile on his face. In an instant, Janie was at Benny's side, a bit disgruntled at being discovered.

"How'd you know I was following you?" She asked in slight annoyance. But Benny only chuckled and tapped on the temple of his head.

"Intuition, Janie. I can feel you a mile away."

"Interesting," Janie replied with feign interest. "But now that you've caught me, I think it's time we finally talked. What happened to you in Point Mugu, Benny? I was really worried about you."

Benny's steps faltered as Janie pulled on his arm, forcing him to slowly stop. He winced slightly as her grip tightened around the sores of his arms, causing him to bite down in pain. This reaction did not go unnoticed by Janie, who suddenly loosened her hold on him and hastily pulled up his sleeves.

"Oh my God," Janie gasped, horrified at the dark red marks visibly marring Benny's smooth, tan skin. Even in the dim of the light, his blisters were clearly discernible.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Benny said softly.

It was a lie—an attempt to downplay his injuries. He didn't want her to worry, but it was pointless by now. She worried anyway, and he gave into her by telling the entire, unabridged story. By the time he had finished, Janie stared at him in disbelief, unwilling to accept Benny's defeat.

"You can't mean to tell me that you're going to let those scum bags off the hook?" Janie exclaimed in concern. "Benny, it may have been your decision to go through with the transition, but it's not like they really left you a choice."

"We always have a choice, Janie."

"But at what price? You know that Dylan Royce would have made your freshman year a living hell if you had rejected his offer. Rejecting their offer would have meant rejecting the team, and you and I both know that Dylan Royce and his stupid friends don't accept a refusal."

"I know that, Janie," Benny said in vexation. "But I still stand by what I said. I'm not turning in the varsity team. I could have rejected them. I could have quit the varsity team and joined junior varsity instead. I made the choice, and it was my mistake."

Janie shook her head in disagreement, but refrained from arguing back. As much as she wanted those varsity scum bags suspended from school, she had to respect Benny's decision. He had made his choice, and she knew he was going to stick with it. There was no dissuading him anymore.

Besides, she had to keep in mind of what Tony Olanowski would do if Benny ever turned him in. That boy had a growing grudge against Benny, and she suspected that it was all her fault.

"I'm sorry," Janie said as her expression softened. "If I had kept my mouth shut instead of challenging Tony on the first day of school, you probably wouldn't have beaten him to a pulp. And then maybe the varsity team wouldn't have targeted you to begin with. Perhaps I'm partially to blame for what they did to you."

"No," Benny shook his head as he held her shoulders and pulled her closer. "You listen to me, Janie. What happened today with the varsity team was not your fault. If anything, that trial had been going on for years."

"But you could have died, Benny!" Janie whispered in slight frustration. "Why can't you understand that? The varsity team could have killed you!"

"You're exaggerating," Benny said insecurely as her words hit him, but that did nothing to soothe Janie.

"I'm not exaggerating," she cried out loud as tears glossed her eyes. "What if a pack of wild dogs came and attacked you? Or a group of crows? You were in a wheat field, for crying out loud!"

Benny closed the distance between them and enveloped Janie in his arms, suddenly feeling alarmed at the realization.

"You're right, Janie You're right. But it's okay now. Nothing bad happened to me, you see?" Benny pulled away and let Janie observe him. He did not expect her to gasp, however, as she spotted the red marks that circled his torso.

Benny cursed under his breath as he realized he had forgotten to change out of Mr. Reynolds' jacket. The zipper had come undone, revealing the raw blisters that burned into his skin.

"It's nothing," he lied to her, but it was evident in her anxious expression that she doubted him, and Benny simply didn't have the energy to deal with it. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. "I think it's time you went home, Janie," Benny said as he began walking again. "Just keep yourself out of trouble, alright? I'll come back to visit you in about a week or two."

Janie scoffed in disbelief. "That's it? You're really going to leave me here?"

"You shouldn't have followed me," Benny said behind his shoulder as he continued to walk away.

"But what if I get attacked? What if someone kidnaps me? What if—stop walking, Benny! Wait for me!"

Benny heard Janie's footsteps approach him as he neared a steel bridge. He shook his head in exasperation, realizing that unless he walked her home, there was no way she would be leaving him. He turned around, just about ready to grab her arm and yank her back to Telfair Avenue, when a sight in the distance caught his attention.

"The heck is that?" Benny whispered as he squinted his eyes. An outline had emerged from the highway, moving towards him and Janie. It advanced quickly, and by the time Benny was able to make out the silhouettes people, it was too late to really run.

Worried, Benny pulled Janie to the side of the bridge, hoping this large group of people would not stop to pay them any attention. He prayed that the darkness would be enough to camouflage the two of them. He prayed that the Lord would grant them temporary invisibility. He prayed, and he prayed fervently.

But like most outrageous pleas he made to God, his prayers went unanswered, and Benny soon found himself face to face with a tall, balding man.

"Well, what do we 'ave here?" The man sneered at him. As if on impulse, Benny grabbed Janie in his arms and shielded her away from the group, one of them being a ridiculously tall giant.

"We don't want any trouble, man," Benny mustered to say with as much courage as he could. The crack in his voice, however, gave him away, and the older man only laughed at his false bravado.

"Trouble? We're not here to start a'ny trouble, little boy. Is _ye_ who won share. Why not hand over the pretty lass behind ye and move on."

Benny glared down on the gypsy-clad man, all the while feeling fear reverberate through his body. He felt cold, and yet his head felt heavy and hot, as if the blood had instantly rushed to aid his over thinking mind. His fingers tingled with numbness as he tightened his grip around Janie's arm. He had to keep her safe.

"Did ye hear me, boy?" The man asked again. But Benny refused to budge—intent on serving as a barrier between Janie and this disgusting man.

"I heard you," Benny finally spoke. "And like I said, we don't want any trouble. We're just passing by."

"Just passing by?" The man scoffed. "I canna believe ye! You're two miles away from reaching the Ridgeback Desert, liar!" The entire grouped laughed in unison, flustering Benny even more. "Either ye'r sneaking out on a school night, or ye'r runnin' away from home."

The group feigned gasps of shock, further agitating Benny. He tried to remain still, but Janie's fidgeting gave them away.

"Did ye make sure to leave yer ma and pa a letter?"

"Yes," Benny lied. "They're probably out looking with Police Chief McClennan."

"Ooh, Police fuzz, eh?" The man chuckled. "I highly doubt that, lad. Take em' both!"

And with that, the group began advancing around Benny and Janie, who held tightly onto one another in fear of being separated. Their effort was wasted as the group immediately pulled them apart, and Benny found himself being thrown onto the ground. He watched as a midget straddled Janie on the dirt and stuffed a dirty handkerchief in her mouth.

"Leave her alone!" Benny yelled. But his breath was only wasted as a piece of clothe was shoved into his mouth, and before he knew it, he was being held down.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


	10. A First Date in Disguise

**A Thousand Paper Cranes**  
By Reiko Anne Nguyen  
Date: January 23, 2011

**Author's Note:** So, in ONE entire day, Benny gets kidnapped by the varsity team, is left on a wheat field to freeze, gets pwned by his father, runs away from home, gets attacked in the desert…& it's still goin' on. O.O

**Summary:** Benny never thought he'd find another adventure quite like pickling the beast. Little did he know that freshman year would prove to be anything but ordinary. Varsity hazing trials, dead bodies, and town secrets are bound to be revealed.

* * *

**Chapter 10: A First Date in Disguise**  
_"He studied Janie's profile under the moonlight,_  
_and then he asked himself how someone considered so plain, _  
_if not a bit odd, could be so lovely to only one person."_

Unable to see Janie get hurt, Benny found the will to kick the man in front of him. He then got up to punch the next man in line. Surprisingly, he felt no pain to his knuckles, but when he turned to swing at the presence behind him, he felt his fist crack.

"Ah, shit!" Benny screamed as he nursed his hand and glared at the giant he had mistakenly tried to clout. The man must have been at least seven feet tall!

"Grab the trouble maker!" Someone yelled. The giant shoved Benny back onto the ground where twice as many men held him down.

Benny turned to look at Janie, who had been left to wrestle an old man and a midget.

_C'mon Janie. You can at least handle that,_ Benny thought as more vagabonds piled on top of him. He groaned and shut his eyes as the weight increased, making it harder to breath. It was when he finally couldn't take it anymore that a high-pitched voice echoed above the riot.

"Argh! She stabbed me!"

Silence filled the atmosphere, and Benny—who was beginning to feel dizzy, felt the weight above him diminish. He opened his eyes and tried to look for Janie, stunned to see her standing over the old man's limp body.

_Did she seriously just kill someone?_ Benny thought as he watched her mumble incoherently.

"I—I'm sorry," she whispered to the group. "He was just so short, I—" Then she stopped to look at the midget not too far away.

The entire group turned to look at the little man, including Benny, and began to laugh.

"Ay, she stabbed ye in the arse, man!" One of the gypsy-clad men announced.

Benny watched as the midget looked down behind him and found not a blade, but a green syringe wiggling from his buttocks. In a panic, he pulled it off, mouth agape as he noted the length of the needle, and threw it at Janie's feet.

"She injected me with something!" The midget's high-pitched voice rang again. "I—I can feel my heart pounding. Ah, it's getting hot!" He began to panic.

"And it's gonna get a lot worse, pal," Janie yelled as she stood up and grabbed the tube from the floor. "Let my friend and I go, and we'll give him the antidote," Janie said calmly as she raised the syringe like a knife.

The vagabonds, who had no idea what Janie had in her hand, pulled Benny to his feet and shoved him towards her.

"Your Epi-Pen, Janie?" Benny whispered irritably as he recoiled behind her. "Are you kidding me?"

"A shot of epinephrine isn't gonna kill him, Benny. The midget will be fine."

"And what about that non-existent antidote, genius?"

Janie paused as she tried to formulate another lie.

"In the bag," she said cautiously as she pointed towards Benny's duffel behind the giant. The group of men guardedly turned around and walked towards the sack.

"In the bag," Janie began again, "…is nothing! Run Benny, run!"

Benny and Janie ran as fast as they could towards the highway. He held her hand tightly, knowing her shorter legs could not match his pace. He tried to encourage her to go faster, but when he heard footsteps gaining on them, Benny tugged harder on Janie's hand. The act caused her to stumble forward, taking Benny down with her, and within seconds they were being heaved by their collars and dragged back to the motley crew.

"Interesting," the balding man who had first spoken to them laughed. It seemed that laughing was all this man could do. "You two seem like a lot of trouble. I like trouble."

"You sick man!" Janie yelled. "We're only fourteen!"

"The younger, the better," he sneered, causing the entire group to chuckle at his crude remark. "Ah, Jofranka and the women have finally caught up!" He announced as another group emerged from the side of the highway.

Benny watched as a silhouette of people suddenly regretted running away from home, taking fault for bringing Janie into this mess. There was no way he could get her out of it.

Time felt slow as the group approached, and while Benny expected that these women would be clad as strangely as the men who were holding him captive, he did not expect them to be as beautiful as they were.

"Jofranka!" The balding man opened his arms and walked over to one of the women—a thin, dark-haired vixen clad in red and purple silks. She raised her tan arms to hug the man, revealing her bejeweled abdomen, before unexpectedly smacking him in the forehead.

"What do you think you are doing?" She said a mild accent that Benny couldn't quite identify. Perhaps she was Indian? Maybe Ukranian? If anything, she reminded Benny of a beautiful Arabian princess.

"I am—ah—collecting labor," the man chuckled as the woman named Jofranka crossed her arms.

"Leave them alone, Liam. They seem like good children."

"Good enough to eat," someone in the crowd jeered, earning him laughs and agreeable hoots from other members. The women, on the other hand, didn't seem too enlightened.

"I am serious, Liam. They are too young for our circus."

"CIRCUS?" Benny and Janie screamed in unison, but their voices remained ignored.

"Jofranka," the man named Liam sighed. "We need someone tae dance with the elephants, and ye still need that protégé for the butterfly show. These runaways are perfect! And it's not like we'd be kidnappin' them."

"Then why scare them?"

"Because it's funny, Jofranka. Did ye see the look on this boy's face? I thought he was goin' tae piss his pants."

The group laughed again, and this time, Benny couldn't help but feel annoyed at them for showing no other emotion than jolliness.

"Well now the fun is over," the woman named Jofranka scolded. "Ask them properly."

"Bah, okay, okay," Liam said. "Will ye, ah, _would _ya like tae join our circus?"

Benny and Janie shot him a blank expression, unsure of his seriousness.

"Are ye deaf? Ya wanna join or circus er not?"

"Yes," Janie replied instantly. But Benny replied otherwise.

"No. Janie, we need to go home. You can't join the circus!"

"Why not?" She said as she waved her hand in front of him. "It beats getting raped or eaten or whatever the hell it was we thought they were gonna do to us. Besides, I've always wanted to join the circus! And if I remember correctly, you're running away from home. Isn't that how the plan usually goes? You run away and join the circus?"

Benny scratched his head in annoyance and watched as Janie left his side to stand next to Jofranka. "I'm gonna be a circus person!" She announced, earning her cheers from the group.

It was just like Janie to disregard logic in order to chase adventure, Benny thought. He remained standing for a while, glancing at Janie's frazzled appearance. Even with a smile on her face, Benny knew she would flip if she could she how filthy she was.

_Well, she's not going to survive a day scraping elephant shit_, he thought to himself.

"Fine, I'm coming," Benny dully agreed. "I'm gonna be a circus person too."

His decision to join earned him another enthusiastic cheer from the group, and before he knew it, he was walking a mile down the highway with strangers before hitching a ride to God-knows-where.

* * *

Benny held a small grudge towards Janie throughout the entire car ride to "The Circus," if that's where they really were going. He couldn't believe that, without hesitation, Janie would just ride away with strangers who threatened to hurt her.

_So much for being the school genius_, Benny mumbled to himself as he felt the gravel beneath the van change before coming to a stop,

"We're here!" Liam said as leaped of his seat and opened the door. "Welcome to Santa Monica Pier!"

"Santa Monica Pier?" Benny whispered to Janie, who shot him an excited expression before jumping out of the vehicle.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Benny heard her say. He waited for the other people in the van to leave before stepping out himself, but when he did, he was unprepared for the sight that was ahead of him.

Lights illuminated the pier, astonishing Benny as he mindlessly walked towards Janie's side. He heard bells ringing, people laughing, music playing in the distance. It was a sleepless bustle of amusement sitting over a tranquil body of water.

"Come this way," Jofranka gently nudged Benny and Janie towards the carnival. "Why don't you walk around first," she said with a secret smile. "I'll come look for you later so we can tour the circus, okay?"

Benny and Janie could only nod their heads in excitement, eager to explore the pier ahead of them.

They ran towards the rides first, reflecting on how much larger this carnival was compared to the one they had in the valley. They spent money on games as well and, at one point, Benny was able to use his pitching skills to win Janie an oversized teddy bear. She thanked him by paying for their cotton candy, and by the time they had gone through the entire pier they found themselves walking along the sandy beach, silently talking in comfort.

"I've been wondering," Benny said as he felt the ocean water rise up to cover his bare feet. "How did you know I was in Point Mugu?"

"What do you mean?" Janie asked nonchalantly.

"Your dad told me you called him while he was in Point Mugu's Naval Air Station. You must have known where I was." Janie nodded her head as she followed his train of thoughts.

"Yeah. Phillips told me about the kinds of induction ceremonies that were being done by the sports teams."

Benny furrowed his brow, ignoring his hatred for Phillips. "How'd he know?"

"Supposedly, his older brother was part of the baseball team a couple years back. It seems like every ritual the team does takes place in Point Mugu, although I can imagine why."

Benny gave her a puzzled look, causing her to continue.

"Suppose they accidentally kill someone during these rituals?"

"Oh, Dylan told me Point Mugu was an…unincorporated area?"

"Exactly. No one would really think about searching for missing people there. Anything to avoid cross-jurisdiction, I guess."

The thought of Benny possibly dying and having his body hidden was unbearable, and so Janie mustered a smile and tried to change the subject.

"Despite everything that's happened tonight, I still owe you some congratulations. Good job on getting into varsity, Benny!"

"Thanks. I'm hoping it'll be alright."

"Really now? Does that mean you're not joining the circus?"

Benny chuckled at Janie's slight show of disappointment. "Sorry, but no. Subconsciously, I don't think running away was my real intent. I just needed time to myself."

"Oh," Janie's voice dropped. "Well, I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess."

"Don't worry about it," Benny flashed her one of his crooked grins. "It was surprisingly fun."

"Yeah, it was." Janie smiled before nervously cleared her throat. "You know, going to a carnival at night and walking along this beach—it's something I've always wanted to do on my first date."

"Oh yeah," Benny suddenly remembered. "Sorry it had to be with me then."

She giggled apprehensively. "Oh well. Better you than some first love who's gonna end up breaking my heart anyway."

"Don't say that, Janie. No one's gonna hurt you, cause I swear to God, if anyone tries to break your heart, I'm gonna break their legs."

Janie had to laugh out loud. "Aw, well thanks, buddy. And I'm glad that even after everything that's happened today, you're having fun with me here."

"'Course! Five years from now, we're gonna look back on this, and I'm gonna say, _Hey, remember that one time you shot epinephrine into that midget's ass?_"

Janie burst out into laughed, burying her face into her large brown teddy bear. "Oh God, I can't believe I did that! Poor guy!"

"Yeah well, it was quick thinking, Janie. You saved me again."

"You saved me too, Benny. I told you we're good together."

The two of them smiled at one another and continued walking in silence. Benny wondered what Janie was thinking, and what she meant by her last statement. _We're good together_.

Did she mean it the way he sounded in his head? _Nah, that can't be. I'm over thinking this. But what if? What if…?_

Janie continued to ramble on and on about school, mainly about her detestation for Phillips and how they couldn't keep their baby egg alive for more than a couple of days. Strangely enough, though, Benny didn't seem care. At least, at the moment, he didn't care about Phillips. _Phillips who?_

No, Benny was much too distracted. He studied Janie's profile under the moonlight, and then he asked himself how someone considered so plain, if not a bit odd, could be so lovely to only one person. To him. He had always thought Janie to be pretty, but he never lingered on that thought.

Until Now.

He admired her naturally curved brows, the thick lashes the framed her large brown eyes, the hollow under her rosy cheek bones, the pert nose that belonged to neither of her parents, and the fullness of her lips.

_Her lips._

He strayed there for a moment, and suddenly felt a longing to taste them…

_No way,_ Benny mentally yelled at himself as he tried to shake away his mounting train of thoughts_. Get your head out of the gutter, man! She's like a sister. LOOK at her like a sister please. _

As if talking to himself wasn't going to work, Benny lifted his hand up to smack his cheeks.

"Doofus, why are you hitting yourself?" Janie laughed.

"I—ah—I'm just trying to stay awake," Benny lied. "Talking about Phillips bores the crap out of me!"

"Alright, then I'll stop talking about him," Janie said before turning her attention back to the pier. "Oh look, Benny! A fortune teller! Can we see her? Please?"

Benny shrugged his shoulder and ate the last of his cotton candy. "Sure, why not."

The two of them walked back up the pier and jogged towards the fortune teller. Benny didn't understand Janie's fascination with it, but he kept his mouth shut and let her have her fun.

"Welcome, child," the old, wrinkled woman greeted from behind her cloth-covered table. "I've been waiting all night to see you."

"See me?" Janie exclaimed in surprise as she sat in front of the old woman's crystal ball. "You saw me coming?"

"Yes. I predicted you would come."

_Oh brother._ Benny couldn't help but roll his eyes at the stupidity in front of him. _Janie's totally buying it_.

"Can you read my future?" Janie asked excitedly as held out her hand. "Then maybe you can read my friend's future, too!"

"Of course. Of course. That is my specialty, my dear."

The old woman lifted her wrinkled hands from under the table to grab Janie's softer one. She then closed her eyes, all the while feeling the creases of Janie's hand.

"I see trouble," the old woman croaked. "Beware of heroes who are not as they appear. Trust only your true savior, for he will be the one to save you from death."

Janie's eyes widened in shock. She stared at the woman with her mouth agape before turning to Benny for help.

Sighing with impatience, Benny grabbed Janie's hand away from the old woman and tossed a dollar on the table. "Janie, tell Jofranka we're going home. Now!"

Janie shook her head obediently and ran off towards the circus, unwilling to argue with Benny after all the stress he had gone through.

"The hell kind of reading is that?" Benny snapped at the old woman. "Aren't you supposed to come up with some kind of fortune cookie bullshit? _Reach for the stars, success is in your near future? Stop looking, the love of your life is right in front of you?_ Anything but death?"

The old woman only sat in silence, eyes watering with what Benny could only identify as guilt. "You," she croaked as she pointed at Benny. "You are the savior that will keep her alive. A dreamer like her cannot always use her brilliance to save those around her."

Benny paused in bewilderment. "What did you say?"

"She is too idealistic, too compassionate and too trusting. Her logic has its limits when her heart is in control."

Benny gulped in alarm. It was truly frightening how this stranger could say so much about Janie and be precise.

But then again, wasn't that her job? To read people's body language and to make judgments? Well, of course it was! After all, it didn't take a genius to know how naive Janie was.

"Right, then," Benny tried to laugh it off. "Almost got me there."

And then he ran off, trying to convince himself that it was all a part of her profession. There was no way she could read the future. _Totally unreal_.

After locating Janie standing at the circus entrance, Jofranka took the initiative to drive them back home.

"It is a shame you cannot stay with us," Jofranka said once she had parked in front of Janie's house. "You two would have been excellent acrobats."

Benny and Janie apologized for their inconvenience and properly said their goodbyes. They then snuck up their tree before silently climbing over their balconies, unable to believe the flow of event that had led them back home.

"Whatta day," Janie whispered as she dropped her arms on her balcony rails. "First you get kidnapped by the varsity team, then they leave you in a field to freeze and die."

"My dad chews me out and pretty much calls my dream a waste of time."

"You run away from home and get attacked in the desert."

"Yeah, my knuckles are still sore."

"And you join the circus before coming back home to tell the tale. My goodness, Benjamin Rodriguez. Would you say that this is the worst day of your life?"

Benny blinked for a moment and thought about it. And then he smiled. "Yeah, it's the worst day."

_But it's definitely the best night of my life, Janie._

* * *

**Disclaimer: **"The Sandlot" was written and directed by David M. Evans. I do not own anything related to the movie other than this fan written fiction and the original characters I have created through my own imagination. I assure you that this piece of work does not make any profits, nor will it be published in the future. Copyright infringement is not intended.


End file.
